A qualitative meta-analysis on the use of serious games to support learners with intellectual and developmental disabilities: What we know, what we need to know and what we can do

Abstract

This paper provides a qualitative meta-analysis of the literature on the use of serious games to assist learners with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It aims to identify the research trends and the possible directions for future research. The study begins with a preliminary online search and selection of a sample of articles to identify the main categories of disabilities. This is followed by a detailed analysis of a selection of articles chosen on the basis of their relevance, year of publication and representation of the studies carried out in this field. The preliminary analysis of articles published in recent years showed that the majority of the articles dealt with the use of digital games to support learners with intellectual disabilities. The findings revealed reports of participants’ higher engagement levels and motivation when learning with serious games, in addition to improved competence or performance in domains of language learning and numeracy. Nevertheless, most researchers acknowledged the need for more rigour in validating the effectiveness of the new games as learning tools.