Loving Baby: An AI-Supported Robotic Companion for Primary Education -- Early Evidence on Emotions, Engagement and Well‑Being
TL;DR
Initial evidence is provided that an AI‑supported robotic companion embedded in a craft workshop with a craft workshop can enhance engagement and motivation while opening a safe space for emotional expression in a post‑disaster primary context.
Abstract
Emotions, engagement and well‑being are fundamental to primary students’ learning. Existing work on craft-based interventions and social robots shows benefits for creativity, mood and engagement. However, they rarely target young disaster‑affected learners or integrate craft and AI companions to support socio‑emotional recovery, such as community‑level trauma. This study investigates Loving Baby, an AI‑supported robotic companion embedded in a craft workshop for 96 primary students. The robot provides self-determination theory (SDT)‑informed emotional and scenario support while students design tailored clothes and write heartfelt words. SDT is administered pre‑ and post‑ workshop and shows significant improvements (p <.01) in behavioural, emotional and cognitive engagement, and motivation (p <.05). Internal consistency is excellent (Cronbach’s α =.955), with strong inter‑correlations between subscales (r =.78–.88), indicating a coherent engagement construct. Students also reveal rich emotional labelling (joy, sadness, anger, fear), links between happiness and helping others, and perspective‑taking towards peers and Loving Baby. The findings provide initial evidence that an AI‑supported robotic companion with a craft workshop can enhance engagement and motivation while opening a safe space for emotional expression in a post‑disaster primary context.