Where is the student who was here? Gamification as a strategy to engage students

PurposeEducation is undergoing digital transformation intensified by COVID-19. In this context, gamification is an attractive alternative based on the use of elements of the games with educational purposes. However, it keeps the educational content to be learned as a central element without neglecting the “fun,” which contributing to engaging students. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the factors that affect students' engagement in an undergraduate course of Business Administration with gamified activities in remote education.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data through a survey available to students of the administration course at a private university in São Paulo (n = 671). This study used a quantitative approach, using SEM with PLS estimation and with the support of other analytical techniques.FindingsThe results support all the hypotheses formulated. Those with the associated construct “competition” obtained the most robust relationships, which denotes that competition is an essential element in gamification. Despite being supported by the results, “network exposure” influencing engagement is one point of attention to improving teaching strategies.Research limitations/implicationsGraduate schools could implement this type of gamified activity, evaluating whether students enrolled in higher degrees would willingly engage in a learning activity considered “less serious.”Practical implicationsHigher education institutions can benefit from this study by understanding that gamification is presented as an active methodology that increases students' engagement in teaching.Originality/valueThis research addressed gaps in the factors that affect students' engagement with gamified activities, proposing an alternative theoretical model to those present in the literature.