USING GAMIFICATION FOR TEACHING ECONOMICS IN TECHNICAL HIGHER EDUCATION: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

This paper presents the results of an exploratory research conducted by the authors with the support of students participating in Economics classes within a Technical University in Bucharest, Romania. At the core of the exploratory research are (i) the perspective of, "Y" generation students on gamification and (ii) the ability of gamification to influence students in technical higher education in order to achieve better learning performances during Economics classes. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed to perform this exploratory research around two main construct: enjoyment and perceived usefulness of gamified learning activity. The exploratory research reveals that gamification in the described context has potential to increase students motivation in learning Economics. The results of the exploratory research boosts the understanding of the gamification phenomenon as a persuasion tool in teaching non- technical disciplines - such as Economics - in a technical higher education environment. However, introducing gamification can be difficult within an inertia context, even if macro environment factor (4th Industrial Revolution accompanied by, Internet of Things) places gamification on learning as a theme that requires attention at the level of Romanian higher education system. Thus, implications and future research are also included in the paper. (C) 2017 Published by Future Academy www. FutureAcademy. org. uk