Digital games in the classroom? A contextual approach to teachers’ adoption intention of digital games in formal education

Interest in using digital games for formal education has steadily increased in the past decades. When it comes to actual use, however, the uptake of games in the classroom remains limited. Using a contextual approach, the possible influence of factors on a school (N = 60) and teacher (N = 409) level are analyzed. Findings indicate that there is no effect of factors on the school level whereas on a teacher level, a model is tested, explaining 68% of the variance in behavioral intention, in which curriculum-relatedness and previous experience function as crucial determinants of the adoption intention. These findings add to previous research on adoption determinants related to digital games in formal education. Furthermore, they provide insight into the relations between different adoption determinants and their association with behavioral intention.

► Adoption barriers for games in school are explored on a school and teacher level.
► Factors on a school level do not influence the adoption decision of teachers.
► Curriculum, experience and learning opportunities play an important role.
► Using games in class should take content and experience-related issues into account.