Abstract:

The use of educational games has emerged as a strategy to promote more meaningful learning and to encourage student engagement with complex themes. In the Brazilian context, however, challenges persist regarding the effective integration of sustainability-related content and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into basic education. Although the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) incorporates these themes, there remains a gap between public policies and pedagogical practices, as well as a need to align teaching approaches with students’ digital culture, given their intense interaction with games and digital environments.

In this scenario, Municipa2030 is presented as a free serious game designed to support the understanding of the SDGs and to foster skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving. The evaluation of the pedagogical potential of serious games, however, involves significant methodological challenges, including the scarcity of validated instruments to measure game-mediated learning, the dependence on technological infrastructure available in schools, and the complexity of articulating qualitative and quantitative approaches.

To address these gaps, this study proposes to:
(1) analyze indicators of SDG understanding before and after the game experience;
(2) observe teacher mediation and its role in the learning process;
(3) triangulate data from in-game interactions, participant reports, and performance in activities; and
(4) identify institutional and technological barriers that influence the adoption of serious games in school environments.

The study aims to contribute to ongoing discussions on the use of serious games as pedagogical resources aligned with curricular guidelines and contemporary digital culture, providing evidence on the conditions necessary for their meaningful integration into basic education.

Keywords:

Serious games, SDGs, 2030 Agenda, meaningful learning, digital culture, active methodologies, basic education.