UK Study Supports Potential Role For Games In Class

No idea how rigorous the research is.

"The report, which included national surveys of primary and secondary teachers and school children aged 11-16, was designed to offer an overview of those participants' use of and attitudes towards commercial computer games in schools. The research also included ten case studies across four separate schools involving the use of EA's The Sims 2, Atari's RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, and Sunflowers Interactive's Knights of Honor.

...Interestingly, but not wholly unexpected, of those teachers surveyed, the most common factor cited in favor of using games in the classroom was “motivating students.” 37 percent of teachers involved in the study noted that they would not use games in the classroom, with many indicating that they believe games offer “little or no educational value.”

...The study also produced expected findings, including games being played more often by boys (50 percent as compared to 21 percent of girls), while younger children were found to be more frequent game players than those who were older....

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