How do Slovenian Educators feel about Gamification? Interested to Know More

Abstract

Research examining teachers’ attitudes toward gamification is scarce, although attitudes play a critical role in implementing a new pedagogical approach. The aim of this study was to understand whether Slovenian educators are familiar with the concept of gamification, whether they have experience using it, and what their attitudes are towards its use. A secondary goal was also to construct an instrument that can capture the affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of teachers’ attitudes toward gamification. Based on survey results from 103 Slovenian educators, teachers did not have a good understanding of gamification and had difficulty distinguishing it from game-based learning, although more than 60% reported using the principles of gamification at least once in the past year. However, teachers’ attitudes toward gamification are quite positive and they expressed an interest in learning more about how to use it in their teaching. They would use it mainly to make learning content more interesting and motivate their students but have concerns that it is difficult to implement and that it would overwhelm them. The main findings of the study show that Slovenian educators lack familiarity with gamification and competencies to effectively take advantage of its benefits but are open and positive about adopting this innovative method to motivate their students.