Play in Context: Adapting Game-Based Learning for African Cultural Frameworks

"Play in Context: Adapting Game-Based Learning for African Cultural Frameworks" argues that dominant Western models of game-based learning, shaped by competitive mechanics, bandwidth-intensive delivery, and English-dominant interfaces, marginalize learners across African contexts. Its central thesis is that such models require systemic adaptation rather than superficial localisation, grounded in Ubuntu pedagogy, decolonial game studies, and participatory culture. The authors propose a Four-Layer Adaptation Framework spanning Values and Ethics, Power and Narrative, Practice and Production, and Equity and Infrastructure, presented as informed by South African conditions rather than as a universal African model.

The empirical basis is a South African university pilot involving 74 students in a video game design course, who co-created African-themed games guided by seven Ubuntu-aligned themes, including inclusive teamwork, gender sensitization, and community engagement. The authors connect this work to Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5, drawing on prior studies that report gains in achievement and engagement. However, the pilot itself yields no reported quantitative results, and the framework remains conceptual, lacking operational tools. The document compares six implementation and design models, including CFIR, RE-AIM, ADKAR, TPACK/SAMR/UDL, Design-Based Research, and Normalization Process Theory, as candidate scaffolding for future work.

The forward-looking agenda is set out in the concluding discussion. Planned multisite pilots will prioritise curriculum alignment and formative, reflective assessment over high-stakes evaluation, using co-design and mentorship involving educators, game-based learning specialists, and students. The authors note existing institutional capacity, including a Game-Based Learning and Gamification Working Group, and propose low-threshold training on inclusive assessment. Recommendations include co-creation, open-source cultural assets, and the development of measurement instruments, with baseline mapping of educator readiness as an initial step.