Learning Musical Instrument with the Help of Social Robots: Attitudes and Expectations of Teachers and Parents

Abstract

In music education, staying motivated has always been a crucial goal, especially for children. Earlier research has demonstrated how social robots could help improve motivation and increase the performance of children practicing music pieces. As important stakeholders, the attitudes and expec- tations of parents and music teachers are important factors that affect children’s and their own acceptance of applying social robots in music education. In this study, a survey was created and used to assess parents’ and music teachers’ attitudes, expectations, and intentions related to using social robots in music education. The survey results suggested that parents and music teachers expect robots to act as assistive and motivating agents, give positive feedback, and schedule and structure practice sessions. Moreover, parents expect a social robot to evaluate student performance, while music teachers focus more on positive encouragement. The biggest concerns of these stakeholders are whether the robots can convey the emotional aspects of music and demonstrate how to play the instrument. The intention of using robots is positively correlated with positive attitudes towards robots in general and the positive attitude towards robots specifically in the context of music education. The current study contributes insights into parents’ and music teachers’ attitudes and expectations as determinants of their acceptance of of social robots in music education, and provides a method for measuring these attitudes and expectations.