Journal title EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY
Author/s Maria Brembilla, Marco Giganti, Federica Baroni, Marco Lazzari
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/1
Language Italian Pages 19 P. 354-372 File size 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/ess1-2026oa22525
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This study explores children’s and pre-adolescents’ imaginaries about robots within PNRR-funded activities on coding and educational robotics. A corpus of 753 textual and graphic productions, elicited through the open prompt “What is a robot for you?”, was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis supported by descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings reveal a non-random distribution of representations across school levels, outlining an evolutionary trajectory from iconic and unstable forms in early grades, to culturally mediated imaginaries in middle primary school, and to more ontological and functional definitions in the lower secondary education. The most frequent category concerns the nature of robots, while relational and ethical dimensions remain marginal. Results suggest that students’ imaginaries should be understood as situated epistemic resources and highlight the need for educational robotics approaches that integrate tech-nical, critical, and value-oriented dimensions.
Keywords: Educational robotics; Technological imaginaries; Thematic analysis; Critical digital education; Learning ecologies; Students’ preconceptions
Maria Brembilla, Marco Giganti, Federica Baroni, Marco Lazzari, Tra immaginazione e funzione. Ecologie educative e costruzione degli immaginari robotici a scuola in "EDUCATION SCIENCES AND SOCIETY" 1/2026, pp 354-372, DOI: 10.3280/ess1-2026oa22525