Serious Games in EDI Education: A Preliminary Discursive Literature Review

This preliminary discursive literature review, authored by Thomas Hainey and colleagues, examines serious games and games-based learning as tools for teaching sensitive Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) content in higher education. Its central argument is that such games can offer a risk-free, immersive environment in which learners can practise difficult conversations about topics that are often emotionally charged. The review situates this argument within existing diversity and inclusion frameworks, including the Inclusive Higher Education Framework and Gardenswartz and Rowe's diversity model, and surveys prior work spanning gender equality, bullying, neurodivergence, and the mental health of trans and gender diverse people.

The evidence reviewed is mixed. A randomised controlled trial by Lievense and colleagues reported a significant gain in autonomy-promoting strategies among participants but no corresponding improvement in self-efficacy. Focus groups evaluating the Rainbow SPARX game found low acceptability, with only 38% of participants indicating they would use it, a result attributed largely to the game appearing dated. The authors draw from this that serious games must feel contemporary and be carefully designed to earn engagement from their intended audiences.

A key finding is that existing serious game frameworks tend to emphasise game mechanics and design elements over pedagogical considerations, and that few address sensitive subject matter directly. The authors conclude that EDI-focused serious games remain under-researched and that a new developmental framework tailored to sensitive EDI topics is needed. They propose building this framework through a synthesis of the existing literature combined with collaboration with a serious games developer. The review's scope is thematically broad across higher education EDI contexts, while its evidence base is preliminary and largely drawn from small-scale and qualitative studies.