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ERIC Number: EJ1469386
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jun
Pages: 42
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-726X
EISSN: EISSN-1573-336X
Available Date: 2025-04-29
Playful Study Design: A Novel Approach to Enhancing Student Well-Being and Academic Performance
Educational Psychology Review, v37 n2 Article 47 2025
We use three studies to develop and validate the new concept of playful study design -- the cognitive-behavioral orientation towards study tasks with the aim to make these tasks more fun and/or more challenging. Based on play and proactive motivation theories, we propose that playful study design can be assessed by items indicating two dimensions: designing fun and designing competition. Results of exploratory (N = 378 students) and confirmatory (N = 375 students) factor analyses support the two-factor structure of the playful study design instrument in a first study. In addition, we use the data of the whole sample of Study 1 to test the convergent and incremental validity of the construct. Results indicate that playful study design predicts students' social integration, study engagement, and well-being over and above psychological capital and core self-evaluations. In Study 2 (N = 591 students), we used playful study design to predict course grades. Results show that particularly designing competition was beneficial for study performance. In Study 3 (N = 28 students), we conducted a quasi-experimental evaluation of a training intervention to demonstrate that students who learned to playfully redesign their study tasks increased their use of fun and competition when studying. As a result, they showed greater active learning, study task proactivity, and absorption over time compared to the control group. We discuss how the construct of playful study design adds to the educational psychology literature and has implications for educational practice in university settings.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Italy
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Utrecht Work Engagement Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Systems Medicine, Rome, Italy; 2Erasmus University Rotterdam, Center of Excellence for Positive Organizational Psychology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; 3University of Vaasa, School of Management, Human Resource Management, Vaasa, Finland; 4University of Johannesburg, Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, Johannesburg, South Africa; 5Tilburg University, Department of Human Resource Studies, Tilburg, The Netherlands; 6Utrecht University, Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht, The Netherlands