An esports program with clubs, courses, and competitive teams can increase students’ feelings of belonging in the school community.
Schools that leverage this passion by setting up esports programs can potentially boost feelings of belonging for many students.
The benefits are impactful in academic and social-emotional areas. Making positive connections through supportive relationships with students is important, and a study by the North American Scholastic Esports Federation found that students forged strong connections with peers and their school as a whole under the guidance of coaches and mentors.
Making a plan for teaching and coaching digital citizenship is critical to support students’ long-term growth in this area.
INTENTIONAL PLANNING FOR AN INCLUSIVE ESPORTS PROGRAM
Step 1. Define what inclusiveness means to the program: Having worked
with several esports planning teams, I’ve found this step to be crucial. Everyone has their own nuanced understanding of inclusiveness.
It’s also important to distinguish equitable from equal experiences. Equal access can leave some students at a disadvantage if they’re starting out with less access to gaming. Equitable access helps close the gap between those with fewer resources and knowledge than others.
Step 2. Gather information about your students: Teachers and other adults should not assume that they know students’ perspectives about esports and gaming, even if they are gamers themselves. Use surveys and focus groups to get perspective from your students, ensuring that you include representation of all groups in your community. Explore questions about what students would like to see in an esports program that welcomes anyone to join, such as:
Some choices that you offer might be based on what colleges are playing.
What challenges or problems do they find in gaming culture outside and inside of school? Bias and toxicity exist at varying levels inside each gaming community based on ethnicity, gender identity, and/or economic resources; for example, many males accept false stereotypes about females’ skills and attitudes toward gaming. Such attitudes can create a perception-based barrier for students who might want to participate in a school esports program.
Step 3. Develop guidelines for supporting inclusivity in the esports program: Guidelines serves as a reminder and review of expectations when planning each part of your program. For example, when recruiting for players, sports casters, and video production members, use the guidelines to ensure that marketing includes methods to get the largest and widest pool of candidates, one that represents the school population in all aspects from gender identity to ethnicity.
Monitoring and reviewing the guidelines should happen after each season or annually based on the students’ experience. Inclusivity is complex.
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