Game-based learning in economics education at upper secondary level : the impact of game mechanics and reflection on students’ financial literacy

Driven by the growing popularity of serious games and their great potential for teaching and learning, the use of game-based learning (GBL) is gaining importance in and out of schools and is linked to high expectations in terms of motivation and learning success. There are numerous digital and analog serious games offered by a wide range of providers with respect to economics, particularly to promote financial literacy. However, there is little empirical knowledge about the effective use of the assumed potential of serious games in economics education. Against this background, the aims of the present chapter are (a) the presentation of a newly developed serious game to promote financial literacy, (b) its theoretical background, and (c) a description of the method of the empirical study regarding the observation of the effects of GBL on students’ basic needs experience as well as their content interest within the financial domain