Does Gamification Significantly Improve Mathematics Achievement among Junior High School Learners?: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis

Abstract

National and international standards have measured mathematics achievement among junior high schools and the results were very low. This research employed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine if gamification significantly improves the mathematics achievement of Junior High School
students compared to traditional instruction. In gathering data, the search approach in various online databases produced 157 studies, where only 15 studies, carefully selected based on their titles and abstracts, fit the inclusion criteria which the respondents were in junior high school, published between
2010 to 2022, and using a quasi-experimental design. These studies were systematically reviewed in a participant-intervention-comparison-outcome table. Further, Jadad’s scoring was utilized by professional experts to ensure high-quality research output in which four studies qualified for meta-analysis. It was determined that the overall Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) of the four studies was statistically insignificant. However, the heterogeneity table revealed an accepted level of heterogeneity. The funnel plot showed no evidence of publication bias.