More than just fun: Investigating students’ perceptions towards the potential of leveraging esports for promoting the acquisition of 21st century skills

Abstract Esports (electronic sports) or competitive video gaming has taken its place as a leading form of entertainment for young people worldwide. However, esports were generally studied as a popular form of entertainment, and rarely have studies examined esports from an educational perspective. This study aimed to investigate the perceived impact of various types of esports on the acquisition of the 4Cs skills (critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication) through the lenses of higher education students. A sequential mixed methods research design was adopted, with a questionnaire survey involving 628 participants followed by semi-structured interviews with 46 participants. The quantitative findings showed that the players generally perceived that esports can cultivate the 4Cs skills and their perception was significantly related to gaming experience, gaming frequency, and time spent on each gameplay. The higher level of engagement in games was associated with higher 4Cs skills. No significant difference was found in scores of the 4Cs skills across nine esports genres. Apart from statistical inferences, natural language process (NLP) techniques combined with thematic analysis were used to identify various mechanisms and elements of different games associated with the 4Cs skills development. The quantitative and qualitative findings collectively shed light on the potential of integrating esports elements into innovative pedagogies for promoting learning and developing the 4Cs skills for both life and career.