Connected civic gaming: rethinking the role of video games in civic education

ABSTRACT

Rising political polarization and the spread of disinformation have highlighted the need to re-assess and broaden existing approaches to civic education. Though video games have been presented as tools that could capitalize on youth’s interest-driven engagement with technology to support situated modes of civic learning, their actual contributions remain contested. This conceptual paper sets out to update and expand existing approaches to the civic role of video games by offering a “connected civic gaming” framework. Connected civic gaming brings together two approaches: first, “connected civics” highlights the potential of digital technologies to create consequential connections between youth’s interest driven cultural participation and civic modes of action. Second, “connected gaming” stresses the importance of positioning youth not only as game-players but also as makers of video games and active participants in the emerging communities that surround them. Accordingly, we offer a classification of the diverse civic contributions of game-playing and making, calling for two main shifts in research on civic video games: (1) overcoming the depiction of games as standalone interventions, and integrating them in broader educational efforts; and (2) a stronger emphasis on offering youth decision making power in- and about the games they play.

KEYWORDS:

• Video games
• civic education
• connected learning
• game making
• connected gaming
• transfer

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Science Foundation [grant number 1027736].

Notes on contributors

Gideon Dishon

Gideon Dishon is a lecturer (tenure track) at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He holds a PhD in education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master’s and Bachelor’s in philosophy from Tel Aviv University. His research explores the philosophical roots of civic and character education, with a special interest in the role digital technologies play in these endeavors.

Yasmin B. Kafai

Yasmin B. Kafai, the Lori and Michael Milken President’s Distinguished Professor, is a learning scientist and designer of online tools and communities to promote coding, crafting, and creativity across K-16. Her research empowers students to use computer programming to design games, sew electronic textiles, and grow applications in biology with the goal of supporting creative expression, building social connections, and broadening participation in STEM. Her award-winning work has received generous funding from the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.