Abstract
Esports has been adopted by high schools across the country and around the world as a school-based opportunity for students to engage in competitive video gaming. Growth of esports in secondary schools has been informed independently by student and industry interests, leaving school administrators little understanding surrounding the motives and objectives of the activity and esports’ potential as a youth empowerment program in schools. This dissertation was conceptualized to inform school administrators and other constituencies with decision-making power in education about the intentions students bring with them to esports activities and the outcomes students find through their participation in esports. Each of the three principles examined in this dissertation—inclusivity, ethics, and creativity—is central to one of the three qualitative studies included in this dissertation.
Firstly, a systematic literature review was developed to find current peer-reviewed literature examining the presence of inclusivity using Universal Design for Learning guidelines (CAST, 2018) among high school esports populations. The review of peer-reviewed journal articles studying high school esports student populations showed a preference among researchers to study health and wellness factors of esports participants. A qualitative comparative analysis extracted findings aligned with UDL guidelines to understand the intentionality of esports researchers and high school esports programs in supporting broad accessibility in their programming. Secondly, a grounded theory qualitative investigation using interviews and focus groups among high school esports players produced an initial theory which supports safety, team dynamics, and learning as primary ethical principles in high school esports. Thirdly, a qualitative multiple case study utilized interviews and focus groups to compare and contrast creative factors in high school esports and art clubs. Domain analysis of transcripts within the study conveyed differences between the two clubs based in their competitive or egalitarian intentions with Art Club students and Esports students possessing unique profiles when engaging creatively in their respective activities.
Findings from each of the three studies inform nuance surrounding student engagement in high school esports and its potential as a student empowerment program. For schools and communities seeking to provide secondary students with practice in 21st century communication skills, esports offers players insight into strategies supporting virtual-physical team building. Students participating in esports gain a source of pride in their school-supported activity as they track their progress in achieving competition-based goals. This dissertation finds high school esports offers students an empowering environment that spans virtual and physical settings where students can gain valuable experience in developing virtual-physical relationships.