Serious Games in Secondary Education to Introduce Circular Economy: Experiences With the Game EcoCEO
The concept of the circular economy is being proposed as an alternative for the current linear economy. However, little research has been done on how to integrate this topic within education. Serious games are suggested as an appropriate way to create awareness about and stimulate behavioral change...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2021.690232/full |
| _version_ | 1818692708541136896 |
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| author | Julie Roba Tom Kuppens Tom Kuppens Tom Kuppens Lise Janssens Lise Janssens Anse Smeets Saskia Manshoven Katrien Struyven Katrien Struyven |
| author_facet | Julie Roba Tom Kuppens Tom Kuppens Tom Kuppens Lise Janssens Lise Janssens Anse Smeets Saskia Manshoven Katrien Struyven Katrien Struyven |
| author_sort | Julie Roba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The concept of the circular economy is being proposed as an alternative for the current linear economy. However, little research has been done on how to integrate this topic within education. Serious games are suggested as an appropriate way to create awareness about and stimulate behavioral change toward sustainable development. Therefore, the serious game ecoCEO has been developed to introduce the circular economy concept within upper secondary education. The game's intention is to introduce students to the challenge of resource scarcity, circular product design, sustainable entrepreneurship and circular business models. EcoCEO has been tested among 42 students, whose written reflections were qualitatively examined. EcoCEO appears successful, at least partially, in contrasting the circular economy with the linear economy and in conveying relevant concepts such as recycling and reuse. EcoCEO also illustrates the importance of the circular economy within the context of material scarcity. Moreover, most students in our case study seem to have a good impression of the role and responsibilities of a (sustainable) entrepreneur. Despite its difficulty level, the majority of the students reported having fun while playing ecoCEO. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T13:02:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-008a7049d4c94acab130264b2be9ccdd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T13:02:05Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-008a7049d4c94acab130264b2be9ccdd2022-12-21T21:47:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainability2673-45242021-08-01210.3389/frsus.2021.690232690232Serious Games in Secondary Education to Introduce Circular Economy: Experiences With the Game EcoCEOJulie Roba0Tom Kuppens1Tom Kuppens2Tom Kuppens3Lise Janssens4Lise Janssens5Anse Smeets6Saskia Manshoven7Katrien Struyven8Katrien Struyven9UHasselt, School of Educational Studies, Hasselt, BelgiumUHasselt, School of Educational Studies, Hasselt, BelgiumUHasselt, Environmental Economics Research Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt, BelgiumVrije Universiteit Brussel, Multidisciplinary Institute Teacher Education (MILO), Brussels, BelgiumUHasselt, School of Educational Studies, Hasselt, BelgiumUHasselt, Environmental Economics Research Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt, BelgiumVITO, Unit Sustainable Materials Management, Antwerp, BelgiumVITO, Unit Sustainable Materials Management, Antwerp, BelgiumUHasselt, School of Educational Studies, Hasselt, BelgiumVrije Universiteit Brussel, Educational Sciences Department (EDWE), Brussels, BelgiumThe concept of the circular economy is being proposed as an alternative for the current linear economy. However, little research has been done on how to integrate this topic within education. Serious games are suggested as an appropriate way to create awareness about and stimulate behavioral change toward sustainable development. Therefore, the serious game ecoCEO has been developed to introduce the circular economy concept within upper secondary education. The game's intention is to introduce students to the challenge of resource scarcity, circular product design, sustainable entrepreneurship and circular business models. EcoCEO has been tested among 42 students, whose written reflections were qualitatively examined. EcoCEO appears successful, at least partially, in contrasting the circular economy with the linear economy and in conveying relevant concepts such as recycling and reuse. EcoCEO also illustrates the importance of the circular economy within the context of material scarcity. Moreover, most students in our case study seem to have a good impression of the role and responsibilities of a (sustainable) entrepreneur. Despite its difficulty level, the majority of the students reported having fun while playing ecoCEO.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2021.690232/fullserious gamescircular economyeducation for sustainable developmententrepreneurial educationgame based learningsecondary education |
| spellingShingle | Julie Roba Tom Kuppens Tom Kuppens Tom Kuppens Lise Janssens Lise Janssens Anse Smeets Saskia Manshoven Katrien Struyven Katrien Struyven Serious Games in Secondary Education to Introduce Circular Economy: Experiences With the Game EcoCEO Frontiers in Sustainability serious games circular economy education for sustainable development entrepreneurial education game based learning secondary education |
| title | Serious Games in Secondary Education to Introduce Circular Economy: Experiences With the Game EcoCEO |
| title_full | Serious Games in Secondary Education to Introduce Circular Economy: Experiences With the Game EcoCEO |
| title_fullStr | Serious Games in Secondary Education to Introduce Circular Economy: Experiences With the Game EcoCEO |
| title_full_unstemmed | Serious Games in Secondary Education to Introduce Circular Economy: Experiences With the Game EcoCEO |
| title_short | Serious Games in Secondary Education to Introduce Circular Economy: Experiences With the Game EcoCEO |
| title_sort | serious games in secondary education to introduce circular economy experiences with the game ecoceo |
| topic | serious games circular economy education for sustainable development entrepreneurial education game based learning secondary education |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2021.690232/full |
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