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The role of gamified learning strategies in student's motivation in high school and higher education: A systematic review
Open accessAbstract
Gamification, defined as the integration of videogame components to promote a gameful experience, is increasingly being implemented in education with the aim of enhancing students' engagement and motivation. Accordingly, since 2010 it has constituted an area of growing interest for researchers and teachers. Following PRISMA 2020's methodology, a systematic review (SR) was conducted in November 2022 seeking to explore the influence of gamification strategies on students' motivation to learn. Having identified 548 articles, 40 studies were chosen based on the selection criteria set and analyzed to reveal that game elements such as points, badges and rankings are widely used to motivate students. From a theoretical perspective, gamification studies focus on the dichotomy of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The results suggest a positive influence of gamification strategies on students' motivation, although in the long run, such motivation can decline. Furthermore, the influence of a novelty effect and extrinsic rewards on motivation is identified, which can lead to greater motivation in the short term, followed by a decrease with further exposure to gamification. Future studies should focus on the influence of students' individual traits (e.g., gaming experience, openness to competition and cooperation) on gamification strategies. Moreover, long-term exposure to gamification as well as the novelty effect should be explored.
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“In mathematics, particularly at the secondary and higher education levels, research remains scarce and often constrained by small samples or limited methodological rigor (Elmawati et al., 2023;Ratinho & Martins, 2023).”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Ratinho & Martins, 2023
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“motivation was predominantly examined through SDT, followed by SCT and the ARCS model, confirming SDT's role as the dominant framework (Alsawaier, 2018;Ratinho & Martins, 2023).”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Ratinho & Martins, 2023
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“Still, gamification may produce unintended negative effects, especially in secondary and higher education (Elmawati et al., 2023;Ratinho & Martins, 2023).”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Ratinho & Martins, 2023
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“Gamification can enhance students' motivation when grounded in established theories.”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Ratinho & Martins, 2023
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“yet evidence of its effectiveness in enhancing motivation and engagement remains mixed (Ratinho & Martins, 2023).”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Ratinho & Martins, 2023
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“Skills can then be tested with trivia and quiz platforms like Kahoot, which incorporate game elements such as points, rankings, competition, and cooperation, which are increasingly emphasized in classroom settings [54].”
From Health Benefits of Video Games in Adolescents and Young Adults (2026) · cites this paper as [54]
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Citations
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“Several studies identified in this systematic review centred their analysis on gamification’s influence on basic psychological needs, but it seems that self-efficacy has been relatively less explored, even though self-determination theory as well as the IMI have proved to be especially popular [81].”
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Impact of gamification on school engagement: a systematic review
Ruiz, J. J. R., Sánchez, A. D. V., & Figueredo, Ó. R. B. (2024) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2024.1466926 · Cited by 193
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The role of rewards in motivation—Beyond dichotomies
Bardach, L., & Murayama, K. (2024) · Learning and Instruction · doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.102056 · Cited by 72
The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review
Gini, F., Bassanelli, S., Bonetti, F., Mogavi, R. H., Bucchiarione, A., & Marconi, A. (2025) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105418 · Cited by 67
Lee, K. C. (2023) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20420 · Cited by 74
Metadata
- Authors
- Ratinho, E., & Martins, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Algarve (PT)
- Corresponding author
- Ratinho, Elias
- Venue
- Heliyon
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-08
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- e19033
- ISSN
- 2405-8440 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10448467
- OpenAlex
- W4385648798
- Cited by
- 221
- References
- 115
- Citations by year
- 2026: 93 · 2025: 82 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 10
- FWCI
- 12.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Heliyon (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (CIP - Ref a UID/ PSI /04345/2020, UID/PSI/04345/2020)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Online Learning and Analytics
- Keywords
- gamification, gamified learning, student motivation, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, novelty effect, extrinsic rewards, student engagement, upper secondary school, higher education
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