Esports has been gaining significant recognition over the past two decades, with competitive gaming events attracting spectatorships and prize pools rivaling “traditional” sports. High schools and middle schools are taking notice, with esports seeing explosive growth in schools over the past few years, as thousands of schools now offer esports as part of their educational offerings.
Generation Esports, an organization that promotes scholastic gaming and the positive impact of video games in schools, says that schools can see significant benefits by incorporating esports into their curricula, especially with regard to attendance, engagement, and mental health. The educational system is dealing with problems in these three areas, which have been worsened by the pandemic's detrimental effect on students' learning.
As part of its mission to leverage the power of esports to increase engagement in schools, Generation Esports worked with educators and a member of the medical community to create Gaming Concepts, an innovative curriculum for middle schools and high schools that combines the excitement of competitive gaming with educational objectives, fostering a strong sense of belonging and motivation among students.
The Generation Esports team stands proudly after concluding HSEL Nationals, a yearly event aimed at legitimizing esports as a varsity-level extracurricular in high schools nationwide.
According to Generation Esports, Gaming Concepts uses esports as a digital framework to create a new and engaging pathway for students from diverse backgrounds to experience science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. It also teaches skills such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving, which are critical in preparing students for life in college and beyond. Gaming Concepts draws from multiple educational standards, including career and technical education (CTE), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). The program has been downloaded 400,000 times in over 40 countries, and it is STEM.org-accredited and peer-reviewed.
Since its release in 2018, schools that have adopted Gaming Concepts have reported positive effects of incorporating video gaming and esports into their educational programs. These include better attendance and grades, with improved grade point averages for students and up to 10% increases in attendance, which helps address the problem of chronic absenteeism.
Gaming Concepts also resulted in increased student engagement, with 82% of students who participated in esports as an official after-school activity saying that it was the first time they have joined any extracurricular activity. This shows the need to offer more extracurricular options for students, as the usual sports, theater, and music offerings are not able to accommodate the interests of the entire student body.
According to Generation Esports, purposeful play in the form of esports has a positive effect on students' self-efficacy, self-esteem, and life skills. With adolescent suicidal thoughts increasing 53% in 2021, Gaming Concepts can be one tool helping educators provide preventative mental health to students. All Gaming Concepts curriculum includes embedded Mental Health Moments (MHM), and one study showed that it resulted in an overall 8.3% increase in self-esteem scores, as measured through the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES). The effect was even more pronounced in minority groups, with an increase of 12.7% for female students, 14.7% for Black students, and 39.2% for LGBTQ+ students.
Gaming Concepts provides a safe environment for students, with discussions promoting healthy and diverse communities in esports and school life. It also encourages responsible digital citizenship, allowing students to develop healthy skills in the digital world, such as navigating toxicity in gaming and social media.
Aside from incorporating esports into education, Generation Esports also hosts the High School Esports League (HSEL) and the Middle School Esports League (MSEL), the premier scholastic gaming competitions in the US. The most recent HSEL Nationals had a prize pool of $150,000 in scholarships, which provide students with various pathways after high school and possible professional careers. Teams from many major cities and virtually every state in the US participate in these competitions, which feature some of the most popular games today in a variety of genres.
Students in the High School Esports League demonstrate their talent on the main stage
“Generation Esports believes that esports and gaming can open up huge opportunities for schools in the US, and even beyond. By integrating esports into the school environment, we provide a platform for students to develop critical skills such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and resilience. Our vision is to create an inclusive community where students thrive academically and socially, using esports as a catalyst for improved attendance, increased engagement, and overall educational success,” says Tyler Infinger, head of marketing of Generation Esports.
Media contact:
Name: Tyler Infinger
Email: [email protected]
