Skip to main content

Serious Games as Innovative Approach to Address Gender Differences in Career Choice

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Games and Learning Alliance (GALA 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 11385))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Serious games have been recognized as an innovative approach to introduce instructional content of subjects at school [14]. In German middle school career choice is part of the curricula to introduce different career options and, at best, providing individual advice. Unfortunately, career choices of girls are still influenced by missing confidence in their abilities, role conflicts as well as resistant discrimination and harassment in the technology field [3, 11]. Women are also still underrepresented in the game industry, however, the number of female players is constantly rising [7]. Considering this, serious games seem to be a promising approach for girls to learn about career choice. The following paper will combine career choice findings and game design to present the German serious game “Serena Supergreen and the Broken Blade” - a point-and-click adventure aiming at promoting girl’s self-concept and interest in technology associated tasks. Results of a qualitative content analysis concerning girl’s perception of the game will be presented.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Boyle, E.A., et al.: An update to the systematic literature review of empirical evidence of the impacts and outcomes of computer games and serious games. Comput. Educ. 94, 178–192 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Canney, N.E., Bielefeldt, A.R.: Gender differences in the social responsibility attitudes of engineering students and how they change over time. J. Women Minor. Sci. Eng. 21(3), 215–237 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Eccles, J.S.: Understanding women’s educational and occupational choices: applying the Eccles et al. model of achievement-related choices. Psychol. Women Quaterly 18(4), 585–609 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. ETH Zürich: Kinderleichte Spitzenforschung. http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_articles/1108198_scientifica_1_mf/. Accessed 19 Aug 2011

  5. Hayes, E.R., King, E.M.: Not just a dollhouse: what The Sims2 can teach us about women’s IT learning. Horiz. 17(1), 60–69 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hartmann, T., Klimmt, C.: Gender and computer games: exploring females’ dislikes. J. Comput. Mediat. Commun. 11(4), 910–931 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. International Game Developer Association: Developer Satisfaction Survey 2017. Summary Report (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Johnson, C.I., Bailey, S.K.T., Van Buskirk, W.L.: Designing effective feedback messages in serious games and simulations: a research review. In: Wouters, P., van Oostendorp, H. (eds.) Instructional Techniques to Facilitate Learning and Motivation of Serious Games. AGL, pp. 119–140. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39298-1_7

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  9. Mayring, P.: Qualitative content analysis. In: Flick, U., von Kardorff, E., Steinke, I. (eds.) A Companion to Qualitative Research, pp. 266–269. Sage, London (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  10. McGonigal, J.: Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Penguin, New York (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Seron, C., Silbey, S.S., Cech, E., Rubineau, B.: Persistence is cultural: professional socialization and the reproduction of sex segregation. Work. Occup. 43(2), 178–214 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Spangenberger, P., Kapp, F., Kruse, L., Hartmann, M., Narciss, S.: Can a serious game attract girls to technology professions? Int. J. Sci. Gend. Technol. 10(2), 253–264 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Virvou, M., Katsionis, G., Manos, K.: Combining software games with education: evaluation of its educational effectiveness. Educ. Technol. Soc. 8(2), 54–65 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H., van der Spek, E.D.: A meta-analysis of the cognitive and motivational effects of serious games. J. Educ. Psychol. 105, 249–265 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Zauchner, S., Zens, B., Siebenhandl, K., Jütte, W.: Gendersensitives Design durch partizipative Mediengestaltung: Evaluationskonzept zur Entwicklung eines Online-Rollenspiels für Mädchen. In: Schachtner, C., Höber, A. (eds.) Learning Communities, pp. 247–258. Campus Verlag, Münster (2008)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pia Spangenberger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Spangenberger, P., Kruse, L., Kapp, F. (2019). Serious Games as Innovative Approach to Address Gender Differences in Career Choice. In: Gentile, M., Allegra, M., Söbke, H. (eds) Games and Learning Alliance. GALA 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11385. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11548-7_43

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11548-7_43

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-11547-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-11548-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics