Abstract:

Educational games are gaining an increasing attention in education as a means to motivate and attract students’ attention when learning. However, extant academic literature suggests that teachers might encounter different barriers when trying to use educational games in their courses. Such barriers include a lack of knowledge of appropriate educational games which fit the content and curricula to be taught. Perceived availability of educational games can also act as a barrier for teachers to use educational games in their courses. Moreover, because educational levels widely differ in factors such as curricula and goals, teachers’ perceptions about educational games might also vary across educational levels. In order to gain a better understanding of teachers´ knowledge and perceived availability of educational games, a convenience sample of 108 teachers across different educational levels (kindergarten, primary education, secondary education, and vocational education) was analyzed. Main results suggest that statistically significant differences exist between educational levels (primary education and vocational education) in teachers´ knowledge and teachers´ perceived availability of educational games (primary education and vocational education; and secondary education and vocational education). Implications of these findings, limitations of the study, and future research lines are also addressed.

Keywords:

Educational games, teachers´ perceptions, educational level.