How different countries implement scholastic esports
Scholastic esports, a general term used to describe competitive gaming in the educational system, has changed significantly over the last few years.
The first esports degree was launched in 2018 by UK institution Staffordshire University, with a multitude of universities across the world shortly following suit. Esports has not only made its way into higher education, high school esports clubs are gaining momentum and esports education courses below university levels have started to be implemented.
However, the scale and structure of scholastic esports drastically differs from country to country.
Gerald Solomon, Founder and Executive Director of NASEF (Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations), described the scholastic esports scene prior to the organisation’s launch in 2018 as “primarily nonexistent” — with the focus largely on the competitive scene. As an education partner to the IESF, NASEF has affiliates in 33 countries with the non-profit’s aim, according to Solomon, being to make its project-based learning model “mainstream in educational systems worldwide”.
Esports Insider, with the help of NASEF, has taken a look at four different scholastic esports ecosystems — the UK, the US, Japan and South Africa — to showcase different strategies that are currently being used to merge the education and esports sectors.
The United States
For traditional sports, the US has one of the most widely recognised collegiate structures in the world, with scholarships that reward competitive excellence and an array of educational opportunities. This level of structure extends all the way from Kindergarten to 12th grade (5-18) from a competitive standpoint. So, it makes sense that when it comes to esports and education, the US is seen as one of the biggest potential markets.
Kammas Kersch, Leader of the Pennsylvania Scholastic Esports League (PSEL), noted that the current scholastic esports ecosystem in the US is “rapidly evolving” with educator-led organisations helping build communities and creating relationships with education institutions to provide greater opportunities for students.
“What we have seen is that educators are taking the lead in building out opportunities for students and fellow educators to see esports as not only a competitive experience, but a learning experience,” she explained. “Here in Pennsylvania, we are proud of the esports ecosystem we have been building.”
As Kersch highlighted there are two core sub-sectors in scholastic esports — education and competition. As a result, different institutions will have different priorities based on which sector they want to focus on, how esports is perceived, and what country these initiatives will take place.
In the US, this becomes even more fragmented with there being a multitude of educational bodies across different states, all of which prioritise the most effective for their community. Given differing state opinions on the importance of esports, the level of investment can vary massively as well.
For example, over the years the state of Georgia has been a public advocate of esports which is shown through the range of educational and competitive initiatives that have occurred. California’s governing body of high school sports, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), runs a statewide esports initiative which includes an in-person championship final. Additionally, California has a separately approved esports-centric classroom curriculum.
However, Kersch does highlight that in the K-12 sector, US educational stakeholders are looking at esports as an opportunity to promote STEM, social-emotional learning and career readiness.
“Formally and informally, K-12 educators are creating authentic learning experiences for students through esports, which many times happens as they are participating in a competitive environment.”
Ultimately the next step for the US when it comes to scholastic esports will be to increase opportunities across the entire country. This can be done through the development of state-level leagues — encouraging other areas to invest in the competitive esports ecosystem — or through the introduction of courses related to scholastic esports to more parts of the US.
Kersch added: “I think the next development that we’ll see will be increased access for students. Over the last several years, we have seen the development and launch of state-level leagues across the country, such as Garden State Esports (NJ), Texsef (TX), Pennsylvania Scholastic Esports League (PA), and many more.”