Gamified city for 6th graders: The effect of gameful experience on students’ 21st century readiness in Finland

Abstract

Teachers are continuously challenged with questions of how to meaningfully convey skills of modern society, i.e., 21st century, to young children. Increasingly, gameful methods and playful learning environments are employed in formal education to enhance teaching. This paper examines a physical learning environment of Yrityskylä in Finland, which simulates a city where students act as employees and consumers through various gameful methods. We investigate the relation of 6th grade (12-year- old) students’ (N = 253) skill and attitude formation based on 21st century framework before and after attending the learning environment. Through Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the results show a positive association between gameful experience and all examined 21st century skills dimensions. Whilst it is important to consider the novelty effect and holistic nature of the school day spent in the gamified learning environment, our findings nevertheless indicate the potentiality such a day can have on young students.