Higher education students’ attitude towards the use of gamification for competencies development

Abstract

Gamification is gaining momentum as an educational innovation to motivate and to engage students in their learning process. Nevertheless students’ beliefs towards educational methodologies can affect both their motivation and attitude towards a given educational methodology. This study main goal is to explore key drivers of students’ attitude towards the use of gamification as an educational methodology to develop their competencies. Using Keller’s ARCS model (1987) a research model is developed and tested via Partial Least Squares (PLS) on a sample of 128 undergraduate students enrolled in a private Higher Education institution in Spain. Main results suggest that perceived attention, perceived relevance, and perceived confidence influence in a direct and positive way students’ attitude towards the use of online educational video games to develop their competencies. Both attention and confidence also affects students’ perceived relevance of online educational video games as a suitable means to develop their competencies. Managerial implications for managers of Higher Education institutions are addressed.