Entrepreneurship Education and Gamification: An Analysis of Students’ Learning Outcomes

Abstract

Entrepreneurship educators have recently employed various computer- and game-based teaching methods to develop students’ entrepreneurship knowledge and competencies. However, our understanding of the learning outcomes (LOs) of such methods for students and specifically gamification teaching techniques is fragmented and underdeveloped. This chapter aimed to narrow the gap by systematically analyzing the peer-reviewed empirical studies on gamification and students’ entrepreneurship LOs (ELOs).

This study employed the systematic literature review method to examine the papers on the intersection between gamification and entrepreneurship education (EE). Some of 80 papers were retrieved from Google Scholar, Web of Science and Scopus databases and 16 papers were included in the final analysis. The papers were analyzed based on the key LOs that teaching entrepreneurship using gamification have for students.

This study found limited literature on the interrelationship between gamification and students’ ELOs. The majority of these studies suggested a positive association between gamification and students’ ELOs. These ELOs were classified into four key groups including cognitive, behavioral, social/interpersonal and skill-based LOs. This analysis explored the huge gap in empirical studies on the impact of gamification on students’ ELOs.

This exploratory study is limited to the systematic review of the empirical researches published in scientific journals. Of the numerous game-based and simulation teaching methods, this systematic analysis focused on gamification and its effects on cultivating entrepreneurial knowledge and competencies in students. Future studies should include published and unpublished papers in other sources (such as books, book chapters, working papers and theses) and other types of technology-based entrepreneurship teaching methods.

Educators and computer-based game designers may use the findings of this study to improve the effectiveness of gamified EE and training programs by connecting the objectives and content of the programs to students’ ELOs and examining if the programs create the intended ELOs in students.

This chapter is one of the first attempts that examines students’ LOs of gamification in EE. This chapter contributes to the limited validated knowledge and understanding of the impact of gamification on ELOs of students.

Citation

Bagheri, A., Alinezhad, A. and Sajadi, S.M. (2020), "Entrepreneurship Education and Gamification: An Analysis of Students’ Learning Outcomes", Caputo, A. and Pellegrini, M.M. (Ed.) The Entrepreneurial Behaviour: Unveiling the cognitive and emotional aspect of entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurial Behaviour Series), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 25-39. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78973-507-920201005