Didactic use of Augmented Reality in Preschool Education: A systematic review

Abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technological development that has been studied for its effectiveness in higher educational contexts. However, the study of its potentialities and dilemmas is scarce in preschool education. In this research, a systematic review is carried out to characterize the didactic use of AR in preschool education through a search that covers its learning purpose, pedagogical approaches, the type of AR and the significant findings in the development of skills. For this purpose, scientific articles from the Scopus, ERIC, Dialnet, EBSCOhost and Web of Science databases were analyzed by applying the PRISMA protocol, the result of the filtering yielded 20 studies for analysis. The findings show that the learning objectives focused on the areas of English, communication, mathematics, artistic expression and integration of areas. The pedagogical approaches applied were constructivist, situated and game-based learning. The type of AR that predominated was level 1 (black and white artificial pattern), level 2 (image) and level 3 (3D entity) and finally it was found that AR allows the acquisition of English language, boosts early literacy, improves mathematical skills, favors the development of artistic skills, and enhances learning in integrated areas. This identification makes it possible to highlight the existence of work topics at an apparently underdeveloped educational level and to establish a line of educational research on the possibilities and dilemmas of AR in childhood.