Game-based learning in early childhood education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Research has shown that the rapidly changing technological environment and unprecedented uncertainty have posed a huge dilemma for educators across the globe, affecting the well-being of educators. In response to this situation, many researchers have focused their perspectives on educator resilience, which has been a key factor in helping educators break through difficult situations. However, despite the fact that literature has emphasised the role of resilience for ed-ucators, there is still a lack of focus on educators' professional well-being. Therefore, in order to reveal the relationship between resilience and well-being of educators as well as the mechanism of influence, a questionnaire method was used to survey 1,377 early childhood teachers, and it was proposed to explore the chain mediating role of self-efficacy and pedagogical competence of early childhood teachers in the relationship between teachers' resilience and professional well-being. The results showed that (1) early childhood teachers' resilience significantly and positively predicted occupational well-being (2) there was a mediating effect of teachers' self-efficacy between teachers' resilience and occupational well-being; (3) there was a mediating effect of teachers' pedagogical competence between teachers' resilience and occupational well-being; and (4) there was a chain mediating effect of teachers' self-efficacy and pedagogical competence between teachers' resilience and occupational well-being. It is therefore concluded that teacher teacher resilience not only directly affects their occupational well-being level of oc-cupational exploration, but also indirectly affects teacher occupational well-being through the independent mediating effects of self-efficacy and pedagogical competence, and the chain me-diating effects of self-efficacy and pedagogical competence. Accordingly, the following recom-mendations are made that teacher resilience should be emphasised, in-service training efforts for early childhood teachers should be strengthened, and their level of self-efficacy and pedagogical competence should be enhanced, ultimately enhancing their level of occupational well-being so that they can better cope with the various challenges that are coming their way.

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Effect of game-based physical education interventions on executive function, attention and academic performance in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis from 2010 to date

Mo,

Saibon,

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background Previous studies found that gamification interventions have a positive impact on children's cognitive functioning and academic performance. However, implementation of gamification interventions in physical education has been limited over the past two decades, This research aimed to analyse the impact of game-based physical education on executive function, attention, and academic performance in children. Methods This research was conducted with six electronic databases: Web of Science, PubMed, EBSCOhost, Cochrane, Embase, and Scopus, covering the span of time from 2010 to September 2024. This meta-analysis evaluated the impact of game-based PE intervention on executive function, attention, and academic performance in children through both randomized controlled trials (RCT) and non-randomized controlled trials (nRCTs). From an initial pool of 343 studies identified, 167 were independently reviewed by two authors. 15 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The quality of these studies was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool. Results Meta-analysis revealed significant moderate effects across three main domains: executive function (SMD = 0.72, 95% CI: [0.33, 1.10], p = 0.0002), attention (SMD = 0.50, 95% CI: [0.22, 0.79], p = 0.0006), and academic performance (SMD = 0.59, 95% CI: [0.28, 0.91], p = 0.0002). Within executive function, cognitive flexibility (SMD = 1.10, 95% CI: [0.71, 1.30], p < 0.0006) and response inhibition (SMD = 0.77, 95% CI: [0.58, 0.97], p < 0.00001) showed significant improvements, while working memory did not (SMD = 0.25, 95% CI [-0.11, 0.62], p = 0.18). No significant effects were found in selective attention (SMD = -0.07, 95% CI [-0.59, 0.46], p = 0.80) or sustained attention (SMD = 0.03, 95% CI [-0.49, 0.55], p = 0.91). For academic performance, only mathematical ability showed significant improvement (SMD = 0.56, 95% CI [0.19, 0.94], p = 0.003). Conclusions Game-based interventions have shown effective in enhancing executive function, attention and academic achievement in children.

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Game-based learning in early childhood education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 7 publications

References 77 publications

Guiding teachers' game-based learning: How user experience of a digital curriculum guide impacts teachers’ self-efficacy and acceptance of educational games

Guiding teachers' game-based learning: How user experience of a digital curriculum guide impacts teachers’ self-efficacy and acceptance of educational games

The Relationship Between Resilience and Professional Well-Being Among Early Childhood Teachers: The Chain Me-diating Role of Teacher Pedagogical Competence and Self-Efficacy

Effect of game-based physical education interventions on executive function, attention and academic performance in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis from 2010 to date

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