Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Eğitim Kuram ve Uygulama Araştırmaları Dergisi, cilt.10, sa.2, ss.132-150, 2024 (Hakemli Dergi)
Game is both one of the indispensable elements for children's development and
important tools that provide physiological, cognitive, affective, and social
development for children. Given the technological conditions of the 21st
century, children are increasingly turning to digital games and using various
technological tools to play them. This study aims to examine the digital gaming
habits of primary school students and how these habits change in the context of
three different countries. The research was conducted with a phenomenological
design using qualitative research methods. The study group was selected from
one primary school each in Türkiye, North Macedonia, and Spain. A total of 18
students, one from each country and six from each school, expressed their views
on digital gaming habits. The data for the study were collected with the help of
semi-structured interview questions developed by Taştekin (2019). The data
obtained was coded using the content analysis method and displayed under 11
themes. As a result of the research, it was revealed that primary school students
in all three countries mostly prefer to play games on devices such as tablets,
smartphones, and computers. In addition, while Turkish and Spanish students
stated that they mostly prefer action games (war, escape, football, etc.),
Macedonian students stated that they mostly prefer to play intelligence games.
Based on these results, it is suggested that tablets, smartphones and computers,
which primary school students are interested in playing games, should be
encouraged to be used for educational digital games and for this purpose,
educational digital games that can be integrated into primary school courses
should be designed