On the pre-perception of gamification and game-based learning in higher education students: A systematic mapping study

Background: The fields of gamification and game-based learning are growing and changing quickly, with 6 researchers investigating the use of gamification in education using various methods and in numerous case studies, however, no research investigates the significance pre-perception of higher education students has in gamification, games-based learning, and serious games studies.

Objective: We perform a systematic mapping to identify the gaps in our understanding on the effects of pre-perception in gamification, focusing on the under-researched area of gamification and games-based learning applications for higher education.

Results: We present three main findings: (1) Current research on the effects of higher education’s students' pre-perception of gamification and games-based learning are limited. (2) The limited available research indicates perception towards gamification and games-based learning in participants may impact on the effectiveness of games-based solutions, but more research is required to better understand the relationship. (3) A significant body of new research work is required to examine how student perception can affect the effectiveness of gamification and games-based learning solutions in higher education.

Conclusion: Our understanding of the effect pre-perception may have on the results reported by research on gamification applications for higher education is limited. We encourage more, non-empirical research, to be conducted around pre-perception, and more research that considers gamification and games-based learning applications for higher education.