Cyprus research
Research Behind GAMECHANGE
The GAMECHANGE project is grounded in a strong research framework that places young people, educators, and game experts at the center of the design process. Before developing the educational board game, the partnership conducted a multi-layered research process in Cyprus, combining academic analysis, expert interviews, and youth-led quantitative research.
This research approach ensured that the GAMECHANGE board game is not only creative and engaging, but also evidence-based, inclusive, and pedagogically meaningful. By listening to both professionals and young people, the project builds a bridge between educational theory, practical experience, and real youth needs.
The research is structured in three complementary parts:
- Academic Research, which explores gamification and game-based learning through scientific literature and national context analysis.
- Qualitative Research, based on in-depth interviews with educators, researchers, and professional game developers, offering expert insights into learning, inclusion, and human rights education through games.
- Quantitative Research, gathering the voices of young people through a large-scale survey, capturing their gaming habits, learning preferences, and expectations for inclusive and engaging board games.
Together, these research phases form the foundation of GAMECHANGE, ensuring that the final board game is created with youth, for youth, and reflects real experiences, values, and learning styles across Europe.
Academic Research
The academic research conducted by the Cyprus team within the framework of the GAMECHANGE project examined the role of gamification and board game–inspired methodologies in education and youth work, with a particular focus on motivation, learning outcomes, and social inclusion. The study was designed according to academic research standards and employed a mixed-methods approach, combining desk research, qualitative interviews, and quantitative analysis to ensure methodological rigor and data triangulation.
Desk research provided an overview of the national educational and youth work context in Cyprus, highlighting increasing cultural and linguistic diversity, digital transformation, and the growing need for innovative pedagogical approaches. The analysis revealed that while gamification is not yet systematically embedded in national educational policies, it is increasingly applied through Erasmus+ projects, youth NGOs, and university-led initiatives. This positions Cyprus as a fertile environment for innovative, game-based learning approaches, albeit with fragmented implementation.
The qualitative component of the research involved semi-structured interviews with educators and youth workers experienced in gamified practices. Participants reported that gamification enhances learner engagement, encourages collaboration, and reduces anxiety, particularly among young people with fewer opportunities, including migrant and multilingual learners. Gamified activities were perceived as creating safe, inclusive learning environments where failure is reframed as part of the learning process rather than as a negative outcome.
Quantitative findings further reinforced these insights, demonstrating that gamified learning environments lead to higher levels of motivation, improved learning outcomes, and increased perceived competence when compared to non-gamified approaches. The data confirmed statistically significant advantages in engagement and learning performance, supporting the effectiveness of gamification as an evidence-based educational method.
Despite these positive outcomes, the research identified key challenges to wider adoption, including insufficient teacher training, curriculum overload, limited digital infrastructure in some settings, and persistent misconceptions that gamification lacks academic value. These barriers highlight the need for structured professional development, institutional support, and clearer policy guidance.
In conclusion, the Cyprus team's research confirms that gamification and board game–based methodologies represent powerful tools for youth engagement, learning, and inclusion. The findings provide a strong empirical foundation for the GAMECHANGE project, directly informing the development of innovative educational board games and training activities aimed at enhancing youth participation and active learning across Europe.
In the following file you can find the whole academic research that was done from Cyprus Team
Qualitative Research
GAMECHANGE: Innovative Board Games for Youth Engagement
As part of the GAMECHANGE project, the Cyprus team conducted in-depth qualitative research through expert interviews to explore how gamification and board game–based learning can enhance youth engagement, inclusion, and human rights education. The research brought together perspectives from education, academic research, and professional game design, ensuring a comprehensive and practice-oriented understanding.
The interviews involved Dr. Georgios Tsalakos, an educational expert from the Pedagogical Institute of Cyprus; Dr. Theodoros Aslanidis, a PhD researcher in gamification and educator; and professional game designers Dmitri Sergeyv and
The findings highlight that gamification significantly increases young people's motivation, participation, and collaboration. Experts consistently emphasized that games create safe learning environments where young people can experiment, make decisions, and learn from consequences without fear of failure. This makes game-based learning particularly effective for engaging diverse groups and supporting inclusion.
A key conclusion of the research is that educational board games are most effective when they encourage discussion, reflection, and perspective-taking rather than simply delivering information. Role-based mechanics, cooperative challenges, and debate-driven gameplay were identified as especially suitable for teaching values related to inclusion and human rights.
The experts also stressed that inclusion must be intentionally designed into games through accessible rules, adaptable mechanics, and collaborative structures. While challenges such as limited teacher training and misconceptions about games still exist, international cooperation—like that within the GAMECHANGE project—was seen as essential for creating high-quality, culturally sensitive, and inclusive educational games.
Dr. Georgios Tsalakos
Dr. Theodoros Aslanidis
An interview from our researcher Gita Vaskelyte with our facilitators Dmitri Sergeyv and Catherine Chudinova
Overall, the qualitative research confirms that well-designed board games can play a key role in empowering young people, fostering dialogue, and supporting learning through play—core goals of the GAMECHANGE project.
The whole interview results and more analytical information can be fount in the following file:
Quantitative Research Summary
Country: Cyprus | Participants: 108 young people | Period: Nov–Dec, 2025
The quantitative research conducted within the GAMECHANGE project explored young people's gaming habits, learning preferences, and expectations regarding educational board games. An online questionnaire was completed by 108 young people in Cyprus, providing valuable empirical data to guide the design of the GAMECHANGE board game.
The findings show that board games remain highly relevant in youth culture, with strong familiarity and regular engagement. Popular games such as Monopoly, UNO, Palermo, and card games were mentioned most frequently, highlighting young people's preference for games that combine simple rules, social interaction, and shared experiences.
The survey revealed that young people are most engaged when games encourage playing together, discussion, and meaningful decision-making, rather than individual competition. Games are perceived as social spaces, where interaction and dialogue play a central role.
In terms of learning, participants clearly favored experiential and example-based learning. Learning through scenarios, stories, and real-life situations was rated significantly higher than abstract explanations, confirming the educational value of game-based and scenario-driven approaches.
Inclusion and accessibility also emerged as key priorities. Young people emphasized the importance of clear rules, inclusive language, equal participation, and adaptability for different abilities. Accessibility was viewed not as an extra feature, but as a fundamental element that improves enjoyment and participation for all players.
Overall, the quantitative research confirms that well-designed board games can effectively support youth engagement, learning, and inclusion. The results directly inform the GAMECHANGE project by ensuring that the final board game reflects young people's real preferences, learning needs, and values. in the following file you can find the analytically the results of the research
Conclusion of the Cyprus Research
The research conducted in Cyprus within the framework of the GAMECHANGE project provides a comprehensive and evidence-based foundation for the development of an educational board game aimed at youth engagement, learning, and inclusion. By combining academic research, qualitative expert interviews, and quantitative youth surveys, the Cyprus team ensured a holistic understanding of both pedagogical theory and real-life practice.
The academic research confirmed that gamification and board game–based learning are effective educational approaches that enhance motivation, participation, and experiential learning. It highlighted the importance of constructivist and learner-centered methodologies, emphasizing that meaningful learning occurs when young people actively engage, collaborate, and reflect rather than passively receive information.
The qualitative research enriched these findings by incorporating the perspectives of educators, researchers, and professional game developers. Experts consistently emphasized that well-designed board games function as social and dialogical spaces that encourage discussion, cooperation, empathy, and critical thinking. Particular importance was placed on inclusive design, role-based learning, and scenario-driven gameplay, especially when addressing complex topics such as inclusion and human rights.
The quantitative research captured the voices of 108 young people in Cyprus, confirming that board games remain highly relevant in youth culture. The data showed strong preferences for games with simple rules, high social interaction, and relatable scenarios. Young people clearly associated games with experiential learning and emphasized inclusion and accessibility as essential elements for enjoyable and meaningful gameplay.
Taken together, the findings from Cyprus demonstrate a strong alignment between educational theory, expert knowledge, and youth preferences. The research confirms that educational board games can serve as powerful tools for youth engagement when they are inclusive by design, socially interactive, and grounded in real-life experiences.
This comprehensive research process ensures that the GAMECHANGE project is firmly rooted in evidence and participation. The insights generated in Cyprus directly inform the design of the GAMECHANGE board game, contributing to its relevance, educational value, and potential impact across diverse youth contexts in Europe.