GAMIFICATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: INVESTIGATING MOTIVATIONAL DRIVERS AMONG ACCOUNTING UNDERGRADUATES IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

In recent years, gamification has become widely acknowledged as a dynamic and creative way to engage people in a diverse dimension of life, including educational environments. This strategy can be seen of as a helpful instrument to persuade people to make use of educational systems. Despite the widespread adoption of gamification to improve student engagement, there is a limited understanding of the precise psychological mechanisms that drive learning motivation particularly in Malaysian accounting education. This study aims to identify factors that impact student motivation in gamification-based learning environments. Drawing upon Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the research employed a quantitative research design using questionnaire data gathered from accounting undergraduates. The measurement and structural model assessments were conducted utilizing PLS-SEM. The online survey was completed by 137 accounting undergraduate students from UiTM Tapah, a public higher education institution in Malaysia. The results revealed that satisfaction and relatedness have significant positive influences on students’ learning motivation, however confidence did not exhibit a significant statistical influence through gamification. These results reinforce the importance of developing emotionally engaging and socially supportive learning settings to foster motivation, which is vital for the successful incorporation of gamification in accounting education. The findings are expected to help educators and higher education administrators design more effective gamified learning environments that cater to students’ motivational needs. Future study is recommended to include broader variables such as perceived usefulness of gamified tools and technological readiness for a more comprehensive insight of gamification implementation in Malaysia’s higher education sector.