Culture as a Determinant in Students’ Acceptance of Gamified Learning

Abstract

Nowadays, higher learning institutions in various countries across the globe are incorporating gamification in their respective curriculum in an attempt to create learning experiences that can motivate as well as actively engage learners in learning activities that they would otherwise find boring. While incorporating gamification in higher education curriculum, it is crucial to address the differences in students' behavior or perception due to their cultural differences. Gamification stands out as one of the effective e-learning approaches in motivating learners to actively participate in learning activities that they find uninteresting. To successfully incorporate gamification in various lectures, it is imperative for instructors and policy makers to comprehensively understand the involved students' cultures. This is because the knowledge of the impact of culture in higher learning plays a crucial role in enabling policy makers in the education sector to develop viable approaches of incorporating gamification in the students' learning process. Gamification is a vital tool in facilitating students' learning process as well as the creation of viable teaching models in higher learning institutions. However, there should be a remarkable balance between the application of gamification and time management in order to ensure effective delivery of instruction to students. At the same time, a culture of dedication and focus on personal growth in relation to gamification and learning should be promoted in order to ensure students are always motivated to pursue their studies. This paper aims at providing a critical examination of the effect of culture in relation to gamification in higher learning education.