Employing Augmented Reality Technology in Developing Topological Concepts Among Kindergarten Children: Experimental Study

This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of employing Augmented Reality Technology (AR) in developing topological concepts among kindergarten children. The study employed a quasi-experimental approach with a two-group design (experimental and control) featuring pre- and post-testing. The sample consisted of (40) male and female children from the second level of kindergarten in Al Baha City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These participants were divided into an experimental group (n = 20), who studied topological concepts using AR technology, and a control group (n = 20), who studied the same concepts through conventional methods. Research instruments included a teacher's guide and an illustrated topological concepts test, which was administered both before and after the intervention. The study findings showed statistically significant differences at the significance level (0.05) between the average scores of the control and experimental groups in the post-test. The statistical differences were in favor of the experimental group. It also showed statistically significant differences at the significance level (0.05) between the average scores of the experimental group in the pre- and post-tests, favoring the post-test results. The study also revealed that AR technology had a high effect size in developing topological concepts among kindergarteners. Based on these findings, the research recommends training kindergarten teachers to acquire the necessary skills for integrating AR technologies into the educational process to enhance their role in developing children's topological concepts. KEYWORDS Separation, relation surrounding, proximity, order of sequence, spatial relationships, parity