Instructor-Related Factors Affecting Game Utilization in Software Engineering Education

Abstract

Software engineering education is challenging. To cope with various challenges of software engineering education, instructors at universities utilize different ways. One of these ways is to use games in education. In this study, a replication of a previous survey was conducted to check factors that impact on intructors' decision-making on selection of games in undergraduate software engineering education. Out of 287 invitations, a total of 42 valid responses were obtained. Based on the results, the authors observed that “the number of hours per week the instructor plays games,” “the instructor's experience in using games for educational purposes in general,” and “the instructor's experience in designing games for educational purposes” have significant impact on the instructor's decision-making on using games in software engineering education. The authors present the results and limitations of the study as well as plans for future research.