This study highlights a nuanced impact of gamification in education: it reliably raises students’ extrinsic motivation, especially introjected regulation, while risking displacement of deeper, self-determined drives. The implication is to redesign toward purpose-rich mechanics that keep game elements subordinate to curricular intent. Narratives, challenging objectives, and visible progress can spark interest, but only when they are explicitly tied to learning outcomes and assessment. Practically, the results endorse collaborative structures, particularly collective scoreboards, that build positive interdependence by aligning intragroup cooperation with intergroup competition. Impact is further amplified by embedding curiosity-driven, experiential tasks; preserving autonomy through meaningful choices and personal responsibility; and normalizing error via rapid, constructive feedback from teachers and peers. These moves can convert short-term stimulation into pathways toward mastery. For schools and systems, the workload required to plan high-quality gamified experiences warrants professional development, shared design resources, and protected planning time. The research agenda should now include controlled, mixed-method, and longitudinal studies that track when novelty wanes, how motivational profiles shift, and whether competitive versus collaborative dynamics differentially shape emotion, persistence, and achievement. Taken together, these actions can help gamification transcend a reward system and become a principled approach that cultivates curiosity, autonomy, and a genuine love of learning for all learners.
Montiel-Ruiz, F. J., & Calderón, A. (2025). Influencia de la gamificación en el tipo de motivación del alumnado de educación física [The influence of gamification on the type of student motivation in physical education]. Cultura, Cienciay Deporte, 20(65). https://ccd.ucam.edu/index.php/revista/article/view/2330/1483
Antonio Calderón is an Associate Professor and the Course Director of the PME Physical Education, UL.
Contact: Email Antonio.calderon@ul.ie LinkedIn Follow on X: @acalderon_pe
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