Providing Esports Opportunities in K-12 Schools

Esports has grown in popularity, especially since the early 2000s. The popularity of esports, both in the professional and amateur spheres, has led to many schools integrating esports into their educational curriculum.

While the usage of technology in education has had mixed results over the past 30 years, the general consensus is that game-based learning is effective when used in a controlled classroom setting. Outside of school, many students are already involved in esports. When teachers use games in lessons, their students tend to be more engaged and motivated to learn.

Esports may not integrate well in all academic subjects, which is where esports teams, as an extracurricular activity, are necessary. When esports are governed by the same expectations as those held for traditional high school sports, students are encouraged to attend school and perform well. At a high school in Kansas, “students who were involved in esports had a 94% attendance rate, and their grade point averages topped off at 1.5 points above the school average,” which demonstrates how esports can “lead to continued academic successes for students.”

Esports provides students with several benefits including an emphasis on skills critical to STEM education, soft skills, and Career Technical Education (CTE). There is an overlap in skills developed by traditional sports and esports, including communication, teamwork, technical preparation, tactical preparation, goals, values, motivation, concentration, control over emotions, thoughts, and self-awareness. The competitive nature of esports also helps students develop high-pressure problem-solving, which is essential for a STEM post-secondary education.