Gamification and Eco-Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends

Environmental challenges demand innovative educational approaches to foster eco-literacy. Gamification, the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, has gained attention as a strategy to enhance engagement and learning. However, its role in eco-literacy education remains underexplored. The...

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Main Authors: Paola Julie Aguilar-Cruz, Esther Julia Olaya-Marín
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Serious Games Society 2025-07-01
Series:International Journal of Serious Games
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/990
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author Paola Julie Aguilar-Cruz
Esther Julia Olaya-Marín
author_facet Paola Julie Aguilar-Cruz
Esther Julia Olaya-Marín
author_sort Paola Julie Aguilar-Cruz
collection DOAJ
description Environmental challenges demand innovative educational approaches to foster eco-literacy. Gamification, the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, has gained attention as a strategy to enhance engagement and learning. However, its role in eco-literacy education remains underexplored. The purpose of our bibliometric analysis was to investigate research trends, key contributions, and thematic developments in the application of gamification for promoting eco-literacy from 2018 to 2024. Using Scopus as the primary database, we implemented bibliometric methods, including co-authorship, keyword co-occurrence, and citation analysis, to map the scientific production in this interdisciplinary field. The findings revealed a growing academic interest in the topic, with an increasing number of publications and the emergence of dominant themes such as sustainability education, serious games, and digital learning tools. However, the results also highlight gaps in empirical studies assessing the effectiveness of gamification in enhancing eco-literacy outcomes. These insights contribute to a better understanding of how gamification can be implemented to strengthen eco-literacy and provide a foundation for future research in this field.
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issn 2384-8766
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spelling doaj-art-894fb5d8ed0e4cad8ad2dfedf99b4f5b2025-08-20T02:47:25ZengSerious Games SocietyInternational Journal of Serious Games2384-87662025-07-0112310.17083/8mzab045Gamification and Eco-Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research TrendsPaola Julie Aguilar-Cruz0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8386-9104Esther Julia Olaya-Marín1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5819-2477Full-time English teacher at Universidad de la Amazonia and Jorge Eliécer Gaitán High School in ColombiaPrograma de Doctorado en Educación y Cultura Ambiental, Universidad de la Amazonia Environmental challenges demand innovative educational approaches to foster eco-literacy. Gamification, the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, has gained attention as a strategy to enhance engagement and learning. However, its role in eco-literacy education remains underexplored. The purpose of our bibliometric analysis was to investigate research trends, key contributions, and thematic developments in the application of gamification for promoting eco-literacy from 2018 to 2024. Using Scopus as the primary database, we implemented bibliometric methods, including co-authorship, keyword co-occurrence, and citation analysis, to map the scientific production in this interdisciplinary field. The findings revealed a growing academic interest in the topic, with an increasing number of publications and the emergence of dominant themes such as sustainability education, serious games, and digital learning tools. However, the results also highlight gaps in empirical studies assessing the effectiveness of gamification in enhancing eco-literacy outcomes. These insights contribute to a better understanding of how gamification can be implemented to strengthen eco-literacy and provide a foundation for future research in this field. https://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/990GamificationEco-literacyEducation
spellingShingle Paola Julie Aguilar-Cruz
Esther Julia Olaya-Marín
Gamification and Eco-Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends
International Journal of Serious Games
Gamification
Eco-literacy
Education
title Gamification and Eco-Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends
title_full Gamification and Eco-Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends
title_fullStr Gamification and Eco-Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends
title_full_unstemmed Gamification and Eco-Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends
title_short Gamification and Eco-Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends
title_sort gamification and eco literacy a bibliometric analysis of research trends
topic Gamification
Eco-literacy
Education
url https://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/990
work_keys_str_mv AT paolajulieaguilarcruz gamificationandecoliteracyabibliometricanalysisofresearchtrends
AT estherjuliaolayamarin gamificationandecoliteracyabibliometricanalysisofresearchtrends