A scoping review of embodied conversational agents in education
Trends and innovations from 2014 to 2024
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21632002 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yongxiang Zhang (0000-0002-9626-2683, Beijing Language and Culture University), Weiwei Pan (0009-0000-9941-7348, Beijing Language and Culture University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 4566-4587 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Interactive Learning Environments (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1049-4820 • E-ISSN: 1744-5191 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10494820.2025.2468972 |
| OpenAlex | W4407880410 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 72 |
Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) have given rise to newly sophisticated embodied conversational agents (ECAs). This study used a scoping review approach to explore the trends and innovations in ECAs in education. Our research included 32 publications and revealed major regions or countries conducting related studies, hotspots, and frontiers in this topic. Furthermore, we investigated the following issues in our research: (1) the effectiveness of ECAs for learning; (2) the advantages of ECAs over non-embodied agents; (3) the educational potential of ECAs in virtual environments; (4) the perceived trust of ECAs; (5) the preferences for ECAs and ECAs’ effectiveness across different groups; (6) the ethical aspects of ECAs related to education; (7) how to enhance the design of ECAs for learning; (8) current research gaps and shortcomings on ECAs in education
Embodied cognition · Human–computer interaction · Knowledge management · Mathematics education · Sociology · AI in Service Interactions · Computer Science · Psychology · Social Robot Interaction and HRI · Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts · Artificial Intelligence
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| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |