Abstract:

Video games can play a significant role in the learning process, being their cognitive potential extensively documented. Nevertheless, their integration in formal educational depends not only on the audiences/learners’ acceptance but on main stakeholders’ attitudes towards the pedagogical value of games. The present study adopts a quantitative approach in order to analyze parents, teachers and students attitudes towards videogames in the learning process.

An online based survey was conducted aiming to explore the attitudes of the main stakeholders, explicitly regarding three different dimensions: videogames as a recreational device, videogames as a pedagogical tool and videogames creation as a pedagogical tool.

The multiple stakeholder sample approached (N=106) considered videogames as a possible and feasible pedagogical tool, enabling the promotion of a range of skills and literacies. The recreational potential of videogames was the dimension with less positive attitudes, mainly related with higher attributions in items like “Videogames are a waste of time”. Students were the group with the most frequent positive attitudes in all dimensions. A significant and positive correlation (r = .74, p < .01) between the amount of time using digital media, in a common day, and attitudes towards videogames was also found.

In a broad-spectrum, this paper highlights an interesting debate on the attitudes of parents, students and teachers on the use of videogames for learning, mainly in formal schooling contexts. Results from this paper can work as a guide for future research studies and interventions in game-based learning approaches.

Keywords:

Video games, learning, game-based learning, education.