The Effects of Gamification in Education: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Gamification has recently been touted as an effective user engagement method with the ability to enhance online education. Even though there has been more research on gamification in recent decades, however, there is still no taxonomy of its concrete impacts. The aim of this study was to fill this gap by identifying the effects that gamification has on both students and teachers engagement in online learning. This study combined a systematic literature review methodology and PRISMA processes to analyze high-quality articles on gamification in education from the last ten years (2012-2022) as extracted from three databases like Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. The evaluation and analysis of the 40 articles included in the study summarized and categorized the benefits that the deployment of gamification offered to student engagement, motivation, creativity, and overall performance as well as to teachers as motivation, engagement, or feedback and evaluation. The result of the systematic literature review found that the educational levels that frequently incorporate gaming into their curricula are higher education, but it also shed light on the challenges that come with implementing gamification in the classroom. We hope the study’s findings assist educators and students in using gamification as a successful intervention technique by providing them with pertinent information that can influence outcomes and knowledge of the educational content and establish the right conditions for an effective learning process.