Wargaming and OnePoll come together to conduct a study about video games in schools and discover something fascinating – that most adults think video games do indeed belong in school curricula. 2,000 adults were polled, and the results of the survey revealed many interesting ideas aboutvideo gamesbeing included in schools in various ways.
Part of the survey includes questions about playing video games and what gamers have learned from those games, and most of those polled say that video games have taught them to be more alert and focused, among other things. Many respondents credit video games with teaching them critical thinking and communication skills as well as increasing their creativity and hand-eye coordination.
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So, with people citing video games as the sources for learning a myriad of things and improving many aspects of their lives, it should come as no surprise that they also believe that video games are valuable tools and media for students to experience in schools. Thoughvideo games and schoolsdon’t have the greatest past relationship, 54% of adults polled said that video games should be taught in schools, and 53% said that video games should be considered an extracurricular activity in schools, like sports. Some say that video games should be taught as early as elementary or middle school.
In the study, most college students (88%) also state that they would be willing to major in video games if it was possible. 85% of people polled say that they play video games regularly, and 42% said that they play video games every single day. Consumption of games is up, and, based on the results of this survey, acceptance that video games are a valuable source of educational and academic information is also up, even though most games are not created with the express concern of education in mind,Minecraft: Education Editionbeing a notable exception.
52% of adults polled said that gaming makes them better at their day jobs as well, citing video games as methods of learning different soft skills and time management.Video games with historical settingsand other such things have obvious value in classrooms as they can teach students about a certain time period and the history, culture, language, art, and a myriad of other things about said period. And other games also bring lots of different types of value to students, allowing them an engaging and interesting way to learn different skills.
Polish High Schools know the value of video games as they have implemented 11 Bit Studios’sThis War Of Mineinto school curriculum. Though it is true that video games are not usually created for educational purposes or with an academic audience in mind, neither are many novels and films, both of which are storytelling media that are taught extensively in schools. This research-based study proves that people think video games deserve a place next to literature, art, film, and other subjects taught in schools.
