Peer-reviewed article
XR Design Framework for Early Childhood Education
Supriya Khadka, Sanchari Das ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study systematizes knowledge from 111 peer-reviewed studies on extended reality (augmented and virtual reality) use with children aged 3-8 in early childhood education. The authors developed the Augmented Human Development framework to assess how XR technologies affect children's cognitive, sensory, environmental, and developmental needs. The research identified a significant gap: while short-term pedagogical benefits are well-documented, long-term safety and security risks remain under-researched and under-prioritized.
Key points
- Extended reality in early childhood education carries high-risk challenges due to children's rapid developmental changes
- Augmented and virtual reality can provide immersive pedagogical benefits but often create excessive cognitive load or sensory conflict
- A systematization of 111 peer-reviewed studies on children aged 3-8 was conducted to ground the framework
- A 'risk vs. attention gap' exists where safety and security risks are under-researched compared to short-term pedagogical gains
- The Augmented Human Development framework models interactions through cognitive, sensory, environmental, and developmental parameters
Limitations
This is a systematization of knowledge rather than an empirical study, so it cannot evaluate the actual impact of XR technologies on child outcomes. The document does not specify which particular safety risks are most concerning or provide evidence on prevalence of harms.
Abstract
Extended Reality in early childhood education presents high-risk challenges due to children's rapid developmental changes. While augmented and virtual reality offer immersive pedagogical benefits, they often impose excessive cognitive load or sensory conflict. We introduce the Augmented Human Development (AHD) framework to model these interactions through cognitive, sensory, environmental, and developmental parameters. To ground this framework, we conducted a Systematization of Knowledge (SoK) of 111 peer-reviewed studies involving children aged 3 - 8. Our findings, interpreted through the AHD lens, reveal a critical "risk vs. attention gap," where high-impact safety and security risks remain under-researched compared to short-term pedagogical gains.