Trends in gamification of indonesian language learning in elementary schools: bibliometric analysis

Fina Safitri, Nurul Hidayah, Deri Firmansah, Diah Rizki Nur Khalifah

Abstract


This study analyzes trends in scholarly publications on gamification in learning, particularly in Indonesian language education in elementary schools, using a bibliometric approach combined with a systematic literature review (SLR). Articles indexed in Scopus and Google Scholar from 2020 to 2024 were reviewed, and thirty-one relevant documents were selected through PRISMA filtering. Data were analyzed using VOSviewer through three visualizations—co-occurrence mapping, overlay visualization, and density visualization—to identify dominant themes, keyword relationships, and thematic evolution over five years. The overlay visualization shows a shift in research focus from earlier topics related to motor development, motor skills, and movement assessment, which dominated publications in 2020–2021, to emerging themes in 2023–2024. These recent studies highlight the application of gamification in elementary schools to improve students' motivation, reading and writing skills, and computational thinking. The prominence of yellow nodes reflects the increasing research intensity and emphasizes the relevance of gamification for improving early literacy outcomes in Indonesian language learning. The density visualization identified several underexplored areas, indicated by low-density keywords such as implementation, Indonesian, and classroom action research. This gap indicates that studies integrating gamification with communicative approaches are still limited, offering opportunities for further research on classroom implementation, instructional design, and empirical evaluation of learning outcomes. Overall, these findings confirm that gamification has become a significant trend in elementary education research. However, further study is needed to deepen the understanding of its pedagogical alignment and effectiveness. This study provides directions for future research and contributes to the development of innovative Indonesian language learning practices.

Keywords


Gamification; Bibliometric Analysis; Communicative Approach; Learning Outcomes; Primary Education

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/ijpe.v9i2.93259

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