Sung eun Jung

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Journals/Publications

• Baah, T. T., Balkan, M., Carruthers, K., Jung, S. E., & Kim, H. J. (2026). Integrating waste valorization into engineering education: Experiential learning with powdered banana peel as a sustainable cementitious materials. Next Materials, 10(Issue). doi:10.1016/j.nxmate.2025.101552
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  Global cement production contributes about 7 % of CO2 emissions, underscoring the need for sustainable alternatives. This study investigates the feasibility of using powdered banana peel (PBP), an abundant agricultural waste, as a supplementary cementitious material in mortar. Mortar mixes containing 0 %, 0.2 %, 0.6 %, and 1.25 % PBP by binder weight were tested for flowability, setting time, compressive strength, and microstructure. Incorporating 0.2–0.6 % PBP improved workability, while higher contents reduced flow and delayed setting. The 0.2 % PBP mix achieved the highest 28-day compressive strength of 61.8 MPa, surpassing the control (52.4 MPa), and exhibited a denser microstructure with typical hydration products including calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) and portlandite (Ca(OH)2) confirmed by XRD and SEM analyses. These results indicate that low-dosage PBP can serve as a sustainable supplementary cementitious material, reducing cement use without compromising mechanical performance. Moreover, integrating this research into engineering coursework provided experiential learning in waste valorization and sustainability.
• Jung, S. E. (2025).

  Young children’s technology-integrated engineering learning: An actor-network theory approach

  . International Journal of Science Education and Technology.. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-025-10278-1
• Jung, S. E. (2025). Young Children’s Engineering Learning with Educational Robots: An Actor-Network Theory Approach. Journal of Science Education and Technology. doi:10.1007/s10956-025-10278-1
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  This qualitative study explores how seven-year-old children’s technology-based engineering learning unfolded within networks of human and non-human actors, using the framework of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). This study was conducted in a robotics afterschool program, where preservice early childhood teachers facilitated engineering learning for young children. Data sources included video-recorded participant observations, lesson plans, robotics journals, photos, and teachers’ written reflections. Through ANT mapping, the findings reveal that the materiality of educational robots enabled heterogeneous actors allied in the engineering design process. Ordinary objects, often regarded as peripheral teaching materials, also played influential roles by supporting children in refining their robot designs and developing prototypes. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate how the emergent properties of educational robots reshaped the roles and positions of human actors, transforming teachers into collaborative co-inquirers and repositioning children as engaged engineers. Overall, this study underscores the intersubjective nature of educational technology, illustrates the subtle and nuanced negotiations unfolding within networks of heterogeneous actors, and offers implications for early childhood STEM education, the dynamic complexity of classroom practices, and qualitative research that integrates video-based methods with ANT-oriented analytic approaches.
• Kwon, J. H., Yu, H. M., & Jung, S. e. (2025).

  Perceptions and readiness of early childhood pre-service teachers for refugee education

  . Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 1-23. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2025.2462561
• Shim, S. W., Jung, S. e., & Zhao, X. (2025).

  Stories that shape us: A critical content analysis of STEM identity in picturebooks

  . International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 31(2), 117-146.
• Jung, S. e., & Kim, J. S. (2025).

  Early childhood teachers and artificial intelligence (AI): A systemic review of South Korean and international studies

  . International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 31(1), 7-44.
• Jung, S. E., & Lee, K. (2022). A girl’s gendered engagement in designing and building robots. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 32, 2425-2444. doi:10.1007/s10798-021-09705-2
• Lee, K., & Jung, S. E. (2020).

  A young child’s dialogic appropriation of programmable robots

  . British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(1), 394-410. doi:10.1111/bjet.13012
• Jung, S. E., & Han, J. (2020). A Comprehensive Review on r-Learning: Authentic r-Learning Beyond the Fad of New Educational Technology. International Journal of Advanced Smart Convergence, 9(2), 28-37. doi:10.7236/ijasc.2020.9.2.28
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  We conducted a comprehensive review on the previous research on r-Learning. By reviewing 843 previous studies about r-Learning published from 2004 to 2015, this study investigated 1) the trend of research on r-Learning over time, 2) the characteristics of targeted students in r-Learning, 3) the educational activities implemented for r-Learning, and 4) the types of educational robots used for r-Learning. The study found that the research on r-Learning has rapidly and steadily increased and the types of educational activities and educational robots has been diversified. Relying on the findings of this review, this study suggests 1) ensuring growth in both the quality and the quantity of research on r-Learning, 2) broadening the target student population of r-Learning beyond the age-limited boundaries, 3) enhancing educational activities of r-Learning, and 4) recognizing the necessity for systematic and clear concepts of types of educational robots.
• Jung, S. E., Cherniak, S., Lee, K., & Cho, E. (2019). Child-identified problems and their robotic solutions. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 17(4), 347-360. doi:10.1177/1476718x19860557
• Jung, S. E., Lee, K., Cherniak, S., & Cho, E. (2019).

  The non-sequential learning in a robotics class: Insights from the engagement of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

  . Technology, Knowledge, and Learning, 25, 63-81. doi:10.1007/s10758-018-9394-8
• Jung, S. E., & Won, E. (2018). Systematic Review of Research Trends in Robotics Education for Young Children. Sustainability, 10(4), 465-483. doi:10.3390/su10040905
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  This study conducted a systematic and thematic review on existing literature in robotics education using robotics kits (not social robots) for young children (Pre-K and kindergarten through 5th grade). This study investigated: (1) the definition of robotics education; (2) thematic patterns of key findings; and (3) theoretical and methodological traits. The results of the review present a limitation of previous research in that it has focused on robotics education only as an instrumental means to support other subjects or STEM education. This study identifies that the findings of the existing research are weighted toward outcome-focused research. Lastly, this study addresses the fact that most of the existing studies used constructivist and constructionist frameworks not only to design and implement robotics curricula but also to analyze young children’s engagement in robotics education. Relying on the findings of the review, this study suggests clarifying and specifying robotics-intensified knowledge, skills, and attitudes in defining robotics education in connection to computer science education. In addition, this study concludes that research agendas need to be diversified and the diversity of research participants needs to be broadened. To do this, this study suggests employing social and cultural theoretical frameworks and critical analytical lenses by considering children’s historical, cultural, social, and institutional contexts in understanding young children’s engagement in robotics education.
• Cho, E., Lee, K., Cherniak, S., & Jung, S. E. (2017). Heterogeneous Associations of Second-Graders’ Learning in Robotics Class. Technology, Knowledge, and Learning, 22(3), 465-483. doi:10.1007/s10758-017-9322-3
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  Drawing on Latour’s (Reassembling the social: an introduction to actor–network-theory, Oxford University Press, New York, 2005), this manuscript discusses a study of a robotics class in a public, Title I elementary school. Compared with theoretical frameworks (e.g., constructivism and constructionism) dominant in the field of early childhood robotics education, the lens of ANT served to move beyond emphasizing a single element (i.e., either robotic tools or children’s work with teachers and parents) to seeing heterogeneous associations of multiple elements involved in robotics education. In these associations, human and non-human elements greatly contributed to implementing robotics activities. In particular, our analysis of three second-graders, who successfully met the instructional objectives set by our research team, revealed critical roles played by material actors (e.g., robotic manipulatives, engineer logs) and quasi-human/quasi-material actants (e.g., embodied simulation) in these children’s learning and performance. The findings of this study encourage educators to pay careful attention to multiple elements, including instructional materials and children’s bodily exploration, associated with teaching and learning.

Proceedings Publications

• Babon-Ayeng, P., Jung, S. e., Cheng, K. C., & Jung, W. (2025, Jul).

  Sustainability Engagement and Career Aspirations Among Underrepresented Engineering Students: Insights from a Comparative Analysis

  . In Joint CSCE Construction Specialty & CRC Conference 2025.

Presentations

• Jung, S. e. (2024, April). Young children’s engagement in engineering concepts through the robotics-integrated engineering design process. 2024 American Education Research Association Annual Conference. Philadelphia, PA.