Beyond the Game: Linking Game-Based Learning, Emotional Intelligence, and Student Engagement in Inclusive Higher Education

Abstract

Game-based learning (GBL) is often used in higher education to encourage active participation. Yet students do not all respond to game-based activities in the same way. This conceptual paper brings together GBL, student engagement, and emotional intelligence (EI) in inclusive higher education. It views engagement as behavioural, emotional, and cognitive involvement in learning. In the proposed framework, GBL is the independent variable, student engagement is the dependent variable, and EI is a potential moderator. Students' ability to recognise, understand, and manage emotions may affect how they respond to challenge, feedback, teamwork, competition, success, and failure in a game. EI may therefore help explain when GBL supports engagement and for whom it works best. This perspective adds an emotional dimension to inclusive GBL alongside cognitive, behavioural, and accessibility differences. Empirical studies are needed to test the proposed relationships across student groups, disciplines, and types of game-based activity.