Research examining teachers’ attitudes toward gamification is scarce, although attitudes play a critical
role in implementing a new pedagogical approach. The aim of this study was to understand whether
Slovenian educators are familiar with the concept of gamification, whether they have experience
using it, and what their attitudes are towards its use. A secondary goal was also to construct an
instrument that can capture the affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of teachers’
attitudes toward gamification. Based on survey results from 103 Slovenian educators, teachers did
not have a good understanding of gamification and had difficulty distinguishing it from game-based
learning, although more than 60% reported using the principles of gamification at least once in the
past year. However, teachers’ attitudes toward gamification are quite positive and they expressed an
interest in learning more about how to use it in their teaching. They would use it mainly to make
learning content more interesting and motivate their students but have concerns that it is difficult to
implement and that it would overwhelm them. The main findings of the study show that Slovenian
educators lack familiarity with gamification and competencies to effectively take advantage of its
benefits but are open and positive about adopting this innovative method to motivate their students.
Keyword(s) : beliefs
Pre-Service Teachers’ Concerns about Social Robots in the Classroom: A Model for Development
Social robots are being tested in the educational arena with current thinking in two main directions. One is arguing for the benefits of robots in affective and efficient instruction and is more teacher- centered. Within the second, more student-centered oriented, proponents of human uniqueness are raising long-term concerns. Teacher-centeredness and student-centeredness form pedagogical beliefs underpinning teachers’ attitudes guiding technology integration. Limited research has explored teachers’ underlying beliefs and attitudes to social robots, with some presenting mixed feelings identifying some concerns with some identifying more positive attitudes. Preservice education is critical in forming beliefs, and this paper presents a qualitative study of Slovene pre- service pre-primary school and primary classroom pre-service teachers’ attitudes and underlying beliefs. Students were asked to reflect on their perception of social robotic educational technology in which they would highlight at their own discretion the positive, neutral and negative aspects. Students’ reflections predominantly expressed concerns. The research model was designed in part, drawing from participants reflections and on related studies. Previous studies indicated the concerns teachers hold about robotic technology, but lacked a more holistic model. We built a threefold model distinguishing instructional, social-emotional, and legal concerns. Our findings differ from related studies because they identified participants’ negative attitudes and a clear rejection of robot technology with a human-like appearance and social skills in the classroom. Previous student- centered studies reported on single groups of concerns within specific contexts without developing a holistic view relating diverse concerns in one picture. Related teacher-centered studies were arguing for refinements anticipating robot’s social intelligence affordance in the classroom. The participants in our study are not rejecting social robots as such, but in their view, the robot is not granted the status of a social entity capable of engaging in student-centered teaching and taking care of child wellbeing and development. The findings of our study call for action and informed robot development, taking into consideration teachers as co-designers.