Gamification and motivation in education: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Gamification has been a significant topic in the field of education for a decade, and in the educational context, gamification tends to look at learners’ motivation, motivational learning behavior, or engagement in activities. To motivate students in the classroom and keep them engaged in activities, students’ motivation is a crucial factor that must be addressed. This study is a systematic literature review of scientific papers on gamification and motivation research published between 2017 and 2024, including review papers and original research papers. It analyses these papers to find the status of current research and if gamification can be considered an effective tool to increase student motivation. Also, this study attempts to answer whether there is some consent on how scholars usually define motivation. The findings indicate that gamification might have an impact on student’s motivation, but there is still a lack of understanding about what makes gamification more effective in an educational context. The findings also indicate that there is one definition that scholars generally use to define motivation. The review concludes that since students learn in different ways, educators need to find the most motivating tools to support students through digital innovations. Creating a game by throwing together points, leaderboards, and feedback still does not guarantee motivated learner engagement. Designing an educational game or setting up a gamified environment that motivates students is a highly demanding task that can be facilitated by educational game design principles that are grounded in experience and research. Recommendations for future research addressing the lack of understanding identified in this systematic review are discussed. This review advances educational technologies by shedding light on the connection between gamification and motivation, and what aspects need to be considered when planning on using gamification to increase students' motivation.