Playing to Learn

This Research & Knowledge Exchange Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Playing to Learn: Tabletop Games, Neurodiversity and Inclusive Education

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with and in response to this brief.

How can tabletop role-playing games support education and socialisation opportunities for neurodiverse learners? 

Emerging research suggests facilitated tabletop role-playing gameplay (i.e games in the mould of Dungeons & Dragons) can foster social confidence, collaboration, and emotional regulation among neurodivergent young people in distinct ways. However, existing scholarship is concentrated in clinical and North American contexts (e.g. Game to Grow's Critical Core system and its associated whitepaper), and little is known about how these benefits manifest in UK educational and community-led settings. Rural regions marked by service scarcity such as Cornwall represent an opportunity for community-based provision due to significant barriers to more traditional forms of support. While charities like Game Therapy UK have begun promising work in this field and innovative projects around such systems have been funded and developed (e.g. the Play Well for Life project  and its hybrid game Dragons of Afterlands), significant opportunities remain to evidence the value of facilitator-led game therapy and game-facilitated education with real learners. 

The successful candidate will examine how the design, facilitation, and social context of tabletop gaming shapes its capacity to support neurodiverse learners. Possible directions include: comparing community-based and clinical models of therapeutic play; the role of specific game mechanics and facilitation practices; or developing transferable frameworks for educators and practitioners. Practice-based and action research methodologies may be most effective, including perhaps a game development, system mod or series of practical interventions.  

Projects deriving from this brief are expected to sit within the Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy and the following Department.

All successful research degree project proposals must emphasise a clear alignment between the project idea and our Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy.