The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review
Gamification – the use of game elements in non-game contexts – represents a promising solution to enhance motivation and engagement in education. Traditional lecture-based teaching has been increasingly viewed as insufficient for effective learning, promoting interest in gamified education to sustai...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Acta Psychologica |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825007310 |
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| author | Federica Gini Simone Bassanelli Federico Bonetti Reza Hadi Mogavi Antonio Bucchiarione Annapaola Marconi |
| author_facet | Federica Gini Simone Bassanelli Federico Bonetti Reza Hadi Mogavi Antonio Bucchiarione Annapaola Marconi |
| author_sort | Federica Gini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gamification – the use of game elements in non-game contexts – represents a promising solution to enhance motivation and engagement in education. Traditional lecture-based teaching has been increasingly viewed as insufficient for effective learning, promoting interest in gamified education to sustain student engagement and foster a positive learning environment. This study presents a comprehensive scientometric literature review on the use of gamification in education, analyzing 9163 manuscripts and over 300,000 references from the Scopus database. Through document co-citation analysis, author co-citation analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis, the review identifies the most influential publications, authors, and research trends shaping the field. The findings reveal a research trend that initially focused on game design and best practices but has shifted towards systematic literature reviews and evaluations of gamification's educational effectiveness. Six key research clusters emerged: gamified learning experience, student learning, K-12 education, science education, gamification effectiveness, and gaming elements. The study highlights the growing application of gamification in STEM and formal K-12 education, as well as the increasing relevance of online and personalized learning environments. The review also emphasizes significant research gaps, particularly concerning the long-term impact of gamification, the isolated effects of individual game elements, and the need for improved research methodologies. This review offers a research agenda for future studies, calling for more rigorous, context-sensitive research that better addresses the complexity of gamified learning environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2cbbdeb77c0b4f5899cf5c09b97ec111 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0001-6918 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Psychologica |
| spelling | doaj-art-2cbbdeb77c0b4f5899cf5c09b97ec1112025-08-24T05:11:09ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-09-0125910541810.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105418The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature reviewFederica Gini0Simone Bassanelli1Federico Bonetti2Reza Hadi Mogavi3Antonio Bucchiarione4Annapaola Marconi5University of Trento via Calepina, 14 38122 Trento (TN), Italy; Fondazione Bruno Kessler via Sommarive, 18 38123, Trento (TN), Italy; Corresponding author at: University of Trento via Calepina, 14 38122 Trento TN, ItalyFondazione Bruno Kessler via Sommarive, 18 38123, Trento (TN), ItalyFondazione Bruno Kessler via Sommarive, 18 38123, Trento (TN), ItalyUniversity of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, CanadaFondazione Bruno Kessler via Sommarive, 18 38123, Trento (TN), ItalyFondazione Bruno Kessler via Sommarive, 18 38123, Trento (TN), ItalyGamification – the use of game elements in non-game contexts – represents a promising solution to enhance motivation and engagement in education. Traditional lecture-based teaching has been increasingly viewed as insufficient for effective learning, promoting interest in gamified education to sustain student engagement and foster a positive learning environment. This study presents a comprehensive scientometric literature review on the use of gamification in education, analyzing 9163 manuscripts and over 300,000 references from the Scopus database. Through document co-citation analysis, author co-citation analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis, the review identifies the most influential publications, authors, and research trends shaping the field. The findings reveal a research trend that initially focused on game design and best practices but has shifted towards systematic literature reviews and evaluations of gamification's educational effectiveness. Six key research clusters emerged: gamified learning experience, student learning, K-12 education, science education, gamification effectiveness, and gaming elements. The study highlights the growing application of gamification in STEM and formal K-12 education, as well as the increasing relevance of online and personalized learning environments. The review also emphasizes significant research gaps, particularly concerning the long-term impact of gamification, the isolated effects of individual game elements, and the need for improved research methodologies. This review offers a research agenda for future studies, calling for more rigorous, context-sensitive research that better addresses the complexity of gamified learning environments.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825007310GamificationEducationLearningReview |
| spellingShingle | Federica Gini Simone Bassanelli Federico Bonetti Reza Hadi Mogavi Antonio Bucchiarione Annapaola Marconi The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review Acta Psychologica Gamification Education Learning Review |
| title | The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review |
| title_full | The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review |
| title_fullStr | The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review |
| title_short | The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review |
| title_sort | role and scope of gamification in education a scientometric literature review |
| topic | Gamification Education Learning Review |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825007310 |
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