What is 'Nudging' and How Does it Change Behaviour in Education?

Resource type
Report
Author/contributor
Title
What is 'Nudging' and How Does it Change Behaviour in Education?
Abstract
This Learning Brief is part of the EdTech Hub Learning Brief Series, providing practical resources for people working to improve the use of technology in education. In this brief, we look at the behaviour change strategy of leveraging concise messages at strategic decision points (i.e., ‘nudging’) to influence the behaviour of a recipient towards a desired outcome. We focus on EdTech Hub’s work concerning nudge messaging. It builds on work from messaging interventions in Ghana and Kenya, linking these to the broader literature on the topic. It emphasises that although there is a strong and growing evidence base for nudge technologies, effective implementation remains dependent upon context-specific adaptation. It is not inevitable that nudge messaging interventions will lead to positive outcomes — indeed, outcomes are often mixed. It is therefore vital to understand the specific impacts of interventions on particular groups of recipients. We present findings and recommendations that should inform how nudging technologies in education are approached and what decision-makers need to consider in order to ensure uptake and minimise risks. Lastly, we explore areas that require further research, namely, the changing nature of nudging due to artificial intelligence, the safeguarding risks of nudging, persisting questions about cost-effectiveness, and how nudging can more specifically target learning. Keywords: Behavioural psychology; EdTech; education; messaging; nudging; participation An output of the EdTech Hub, https://edtechhub.org/
Report Type
Learning Brief
Institution
EdTech Hub
Date
2024
Language
en
Call Number
edtechhub.1011
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Extra
DOI: 10.53832/edtechhub.1011 ZenodoArchiveID: 10628960 ZenodoArchiveConcept: 10628959
Citation
Koomar, S. (2024). What is “Nudging” and How Does it Change Behaviour in Education? [Learning Brief]. EdTech Hub. https://doi.org/10.53832/edtechhub.1011
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