{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T09:02:55Z","timestamp":1778317375810,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,16]],"date-time":"2020-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1600214400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Robotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Research reveals that robotics can be a valuable tool for school students with special needs (SNs). However, to our knowledge, empirical studies on teachers\u2019 attitudes towards educational robotics for SNs students have been very limited and, in general, do not account for the great variability in the existent difficulties of school-aged children. Our aim is to fill this research gap. This post-test empirical study assessed Italian pre-service and in-service learning support teachers\u2019 attitudes towards the application of Educational Robotics\u2014ER with their students with SNs at the end of a 12-h training course. The results generally showed that most teachers perceived ER as a powerful tool for children with numerous SNs, particularly for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder\u2014ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder\u2014ASD, and Dyspraxia. Looking at the differences depending on the school level, kindergarten teachers perceived that ER is mostly helpful for ASD, ADHD, Down Syndrome\u2014DS as well as with psychological or emotional distress or the needs of foreign students. For primary school teachers, ER was mostly helpful with ADHD, Dyspraxia and ASD. For both junior secondary school teachers and high school teachers, ER was mostly helpful with ASD, Dyspraxia, and ADHD.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/robotics9030072","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,16]],"date-time":"2020-09-16T10:30:12Z","timestamp":1600252212000},"page":"72","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Teachers\u2019 Opinions towards Educational Robotics for Special Needs Students: An Exploratory Italian Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6606-9903","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Di Battista","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, The University of Chieti-Pescara, via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8378-2911","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monica","family":"Pivetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human and Social Sciences, The University of Bergamo, 24100 Bergamo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4359-6292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michele","family":"Moro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Information Engineering, The University of Padova, 35124 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5794-9979","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emanuele","family":"Menegatti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Information Engineering, The University of Padova, 35124 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"978","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compedu.2011.10.006","article-title":"Exploring the Educational Potential of Robotics in Schools: A Systematic Review","volume":"58","author":"Benitti","year":"2012","journal-title":"Comput. 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