Edutainment as a tool for developing professional competence in higher education students

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46502/issn.1856-7576/2026.20.02.9

Keywords:

professional competence, edutainment, students, digital technologies, system of principles and methodological requirements

Abstract

The study examines edutainment as an innovative pedagogical approach for developing professional competence in higher education students. The research aims to substantiate and experimentally verify the effectiveness of pedagogical conditions and methodological support based on edutainment principles. A quasi-experimental design was implemented involving 120 undergraduate students in pedagogical specialties, divided into control (n = 59) and experimental (n = 61) groups. The experimental group was exposed to an edutainment-based instructional model integrating digital technologies, gamification, interactive tasks, and multimedia tools, while the control group followed traditional teaching methods. Professional competence was assessed using cognitive, heuristic, and creative criteria at three levels (high, average, low). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson chi-square test. The results demonstrated a substantial improvement in the experimental group, where the proportion of students with a high level of competence reached 57.6%, compared to 11.5% in the control group. The chi-square test results (χ² = 8.93, p < 0.05) confirmed statistically significant differences between groups, indicating the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. Overall, the study confirms that edutainment is an effective pedagogical tool for improving professional competence in higher education, with a positive impact on both cognitive and socio-professional development of future specialists.

Author Biographies

Pavlo Smoliak, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine. 

PhD, Senior Lecturer at the Pedagogy Department, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine. 

Kseniia Korotkevych, Dragomanov Ukrainian State University, Ukraine. 

PhD, Lecturer at the Department of Choreographic Art, Deputy Dean for Educational Work with Students at the Faculty of Arts named after Anatoly Avdiivskyi, Dragomanov Ukrainian State University, Ukraine. 

Vasyl Tiahur, Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University, Ukraine. 

Candidate Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor at the Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Primary, Pre-School Education and Management of Educational Institutions,  Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University, Ukraine. 

Iryna Mozul, Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University, Ukraine. 

Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of Theory and Methods of Primary Education Department, Educational and Scientific Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology, Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University, Ukraine. 

Hanna Dutka, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine. 

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Primary and Preschool Education, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine. 

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Published

2026-06-30

How to Cite

Smoliak, P., Korotkevych, K., Tiahur, V., Mozul, I., & Dutka, H. (2026). Edutainment as a tool for developing professional competence in higher education students. Eduweb, 20(2), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.46502/issn.1856-7576/2026.20.02.9

Issue

Section

Articles