Recent Research Trends on Social Robots in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is transforming higher education by enabling technologies that support teaching and learning. Among these, social robots have attracted increasing attention because their physical embodiment enables rich human–robot interactions beyond conventional digital systems. Despite growing research activity, evidence regarding their implementation in higher education remains fragmented. This systematic literature review synthesizes recent evidence on the educational contexts, human–robot interaction designs, reported outcomes, and methodological characteristics of social robots in higher education. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, studies published between 2020 and 2025 were identified in Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore, resulting in a final corpus of 32 studies. Methodological quality was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), version 2018, to account for the heterogeneity of the included research designs. Findings indicate that social robots are primarily implemented in formal teaching settings using humanoid platforms, face-to-face multimodal interactions, and tutor-oriented roles. Reported outcomes extend beyond academic performance, with acceptance, engagement, motivation, and social presence among the most frequently investigated dimensions. However, the evidence remains dominated by short-term interventions and self-reported measures, limiting conclusions regarding sustained educational effects. Overall, the literature increasingly positions social robots as educational partners whose applications extend beyond instruction to social, motivational, and interactive dimensions of learning; however, stronger longitudinal and methodologically rigorous evidence is required to establish sustained educational effectiveness.