The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review

Gamification - the use of game elements in non-game contexts - represents a promising solution to enhance motivation and engagement in education. Traditional lecture-based teaching has been increasingly viewed as insufficient for effective learning, promoting interest in gamified education to sustain student engagement and foster a positive learning environment. This study presents a comprehensive scientometric literature review on the use of gamification in education, analyzing 9163 manuscripts and over 300,000 references from the Scopus database. Through document co-citation analysis, author co-citation analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis, the review identifies the most influential publications, authors, and research trends shaping the field. The findings reveal a research trend that initially focused on game design and best practices but has shifted towards systematic literature reviews and evaluations of gamification's educational effectiveness. Six key research clusters emerged: gamified learning experience, student learning, K-12 education, science education, gamification effectiveness, and gaming elements. The study highlights the growing application of gamification in STEM and formal K-12 education, as well as the increasing relevance of online and personalized learning environments. The review also emphasizes significant research gaps, particularly concerning the long-term impact of gamification, the isolated effects of individual game elements, and the need for improved research methodologies. This review offers a research agenda for future studies, calling for more rigorous, context-sensitive research that better addresses the complexity of gamified learning environments.