Exploring the implementation of the Pepper social robot in formal education: a scoping review

Abstract The incorporation of social robots into formal education has attracted growing research interest in recent years. This study presents a scoping review of the use of the Pepper social robot in formal educational contexts. The aim is to map documented forms of implementation, analyse the methodological designs employed and identify patterns in the reported findings. A search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC-Proquest and Dialnet, covering peer-reviewed publications between 2014 and 2026 (1 March). After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, 13 empirical studies were selected. The analysis reveals a concentration of research in primary education and a predominance of qualitative approaches with small sample sizes. Pepper is primarily used to support tutoring activities, collaborative learning and mediation in inclusive educational settings, and its operation requires constant teacher supervision. The reported benefits include increased motivation, engagement and development of social skills. The main limitations are associated with technical constraints, insufficient curricular integration and a lack of longitudinal research. The evidence indicates that the observed effects depend largely on instructional design and teacher mediation. The literature suggests that the pedagogical dimension is a determining factor in the robot’s educational implementation.