Serious Games For Inclusive Elementary Education: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Inclusive education requires the availability of learning strategies and media that can accommodate the diverse learning needs of students in elementary schools, including students with autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties, intellectual disabilities, and sensory impairments such as hearing and visual impairments. In recent years, serious games, or games designed primarily for educational purposes rather than mere entertainment, have been increasingly developed and researched as an approach to supporting inclusive learning. This article presents a systematic literature review of research on the use of serious games in the context of inclusive education in elementary schools over the past ten years (2016-2026). The literature search was conducted in several scientific databases using a combination of the keywords "serious games," "inclusive education," "special educational needs," and "elementary/primary school," which were then filtered through the stages of identification, screening, eligibility assessment, and inclusion following the PRISMA framework. Articles that met the criteria were analyzed thematically based on the type of special needs targeted and the game design principles used. The review results indicate that serious games are reported to provide benefits in various aspects of the development of students with special needs in elementary schools, including social skills and emotional recognition in students with autism spectrum disorders, reading and writing skills in students with dyslexia, cognitive skills and independence in students with intellectual disabilities, and participation and learning motivation in students with sensory impairments. The effectiveness of serious games in supporting inclusion is highly dependent on the application of participatory design principles, intuitive interfaces, customizable content, and multisensory feedback. The review also identifies limitations of the existing literature, including the limited number of studies with strong experimental designs, small sample sizes, and the lack of standardized measurement of learning outcomes. Practical implications for teachers and media developers, as well as directions for future research, are also discussed.