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abstract

The use of educational video games (EVGs) is gaining momentum as a means to motivate and to engage students in their learning process. Nevertheless, previous research is taking for granted that students have a positive attitude towards EVGs and did not ensure a proper understanding of students' characteristics that might influence their attitude towards them. Therefore, this study's main goal is to explore four students' characteristics (perceived relevance, perceived confidence, media affinity, and perceived self-efficacy) that influence students' attitude towards the use of EVGs to develop competencies. Using the fsQCA method to analyze data gathered on a sample of 128 undergraduate students we delve into different configurations underlying students' positive and negative attitude towards the use of EVGs. Main results suggest three configurations leading to a positive attitude with perceived relevance being a necessary and sufficient condition for students' positive attitude towards the use of EVGs to develop their competencies. Four configurations were found to condition a negative attitude suggesting that equifinality can be considered when explaining students' attitude towards the use of EVGs to develop competencies. Implications for teachers, limitations of the study, and future research lines are addressed at the end of the paper.

7. Conclusions, limitations of the study, and future research

The use of EVGs is gaining momentum as a promising tool to motivate and to engage students in their learning process. Nevertheless, as this study suggests, students' positive attitude towards the use of EVGs cannot be taken for granted. On the contrary, four students' characteristics (perceived relevance, perceived confi- dence, media affinity, and perceived self-efficacy) combine to influence both in a positive and a negative way students' attitude towards the use of EVGs to develop their competencies. Because students' perceived relevance of EVGs as a tool to develop their competencies was found an important variable influencing students' positive attitude, results suggest that teachers using EVGs to develop students' competencies should educate their students about the potential and relevance of using EVGs in order to inspire students' perceived relevance of EVGs. Based on these results we also suggest that teachers must be careful when choosing the features of the EVG to be used to develop students' competencies, so these features meet students' criteria for being perceived as relevant (e.g., the content and gameplay of the EVG is linked to competencies development). However, this study did not delve into students' criteria for EVGs to be perceived as relevant, so future research should explore EVGs features influencing students to consider an EVG as relevant to develop their competencies.

Although extant academic literature clearly supports the use of EVGs to develop students' competencies, to the best of our knowledge this is the first study exploring students' attitude towards using EVGs to develop their competencies. One main contribution of this study to extant literature of EVGs is to highlight the complexity of students' attitude towards the use of EVGs based on different configurations of variables that can influence both in a positive and a negative way students' attitude. Because attitude is a strong predictor of behavior (Davis, 1985) the results of this study can contribute to a better knowledge of variables influencing the acceptance of EVGs as a technological educational innovation by Higher Education students.