Representing groups of students as personas: A systematic review of persona creation, application, and trends in the educational domain
This study presents a comprehensive systematic review of the use of student personas in education, drawing insights from 83 publications identified through the ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. The analysis reveals that qualitative methodologies dominate persona development, with limi...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Computers and Education Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666557325000011 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832586221344260096 |
|---|---|
| author | Ali Farooq Amani Alabed Pilira Stella Msefula Reham AL Tamime Joni Salminen Soon-gyo Jung Bernard J. Jansen |
| author_facet | Ali Farooq Amani Alabed Pilira Stella Msefula Reham AL Tamime Joni Salminen Soon-gyo Jung Bernard J. Jansen |
| author_sort | Ali Farooq |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study presents a comprehensive systematic review of the use of student personas in education, drawing insights from 83 publications identified through the ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. The analysis reveals that qualitative methodologies dominate persona development, with limited adoption of data-driven algorithmic approaches. Most studies constructed small persona sets—typically four or fewer—focusing on dimensions such as behaviors, beliefs, goals, needs, experiences, perceptions, and demographics, contrasting with larger sets found in industry. Predominantly featured in educational conferences, student personas were employed to (1) understand user needs, goals, and behaviors, (2) support the design and development of learning systems, (3) enhance teaching and learning practices, (4) facilitate persona-based roleplaying, and (5) promote diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility. However, the assessment of personas’ impact in these areas remains minimal. The findings suggest significant opportunities for the educational sector to leverage algorithmic methods to advance persona creation and broaden their application scope. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bc904bcbab644e16a5d589dda65e49b3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-5573 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computers and Education Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-bc904bcbab644e16a5d589dda65e49b32025-01-26T05:05:08ZengElsevierComputers and Education Open2666-55732025-06-018100242Representing groups of students as personas: A systematic review of persona creation, application, and trends in the educational domainAli Farooq0Amani Alabed1Pilira Stella Msefula2Reham AL Tamime3Joni Salminen4Soon-gyo Jung5Bernard J. Jansen6University of Strathclyde, Scotland; Qatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, QatarCollege of Business, University of Doha for Science and Technology, Doha, QatarHigher Education, Qatar Foundation, Doha, QatarQatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, QatarSchool of Marketing and Communication, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, FinlandQatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, QatarQatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar; Corresponding author.This study presents a comprehensive systematic review of the use of student personas in education, drawing insights from 83 publications identified through the ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. The analysis reveals that qualitative methodologies dominate persona development, with limited adoption of data-driven algorithmic approaches. Most studies constructed small persona sets—typically four or fewer—focusing on dimensions such as behaviors, beliefs, goals, needs, experiences, perceptions, and demographics, contrasting with larger sets found in industry. Predominantly featured in educational conferences, student personas were employed to (1) understand user needs, goals, and behaviors, (2) support the design and development of learning systems, (3) enhance teaching and learning practices, (4) facilitate persona-based roleplaying, and (5) promote diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility. However, the assessment of personas’ impact in these areas remains minimal. The findings suggest significant opportunities for the educational sector to leverage algorithmic methods to advance persona creation and broaden their application scope.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666557325000011PersonaStudentsEducationUser-ExperienceSystematic literature review |
| spellingShingle | Ali Farooq Amani Alabed Pilira Stella Msefula Reham AL Tamime Joni Salminen Soon-gyo Jung Bernard J. Jansen Representing groups of students as personas: A systematic review of persona creation, application, and trends in the educational domain Computers and Education Open Persona Students Education User-Experience Systematic literature review |
| title | Representing groups of students as personas: A systematic review of persona creation, application, and trends in the educational domain |
| title_full | Representing groups of students as personas: A systematic review of persona creation, application, and trends in the educational domain |
| title_fullStr | Representing groups of students as personas: A systematic review of persona creation, application, and trends in the educational domain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Representing groups of students as personas: A systematic review of persona creation, application, and trends in the educational domain |
| title_short | Representing groups of students as personas: A systematic review of persona creation, application, and trends in the educational domain |
| title_sort | representing groups of students as personas a systematic review of persona creation application and trends in the educational domain |
| topic | Persona Students Education User-Experience Systematic literature review |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666557325000011 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alifarooq representinggroupsofstudentsaspersonasasystematicreviewofpersonacreationapplicationandtrendsintheeducationaldomain AT amanialabed representinggroupsofstudentsaspersonasasystematicreviewofpersonacreationapplicationandtrendsintheeducationaldomain AT pilirastellamsefula representinggroupsofstudentsaspersonasasystematicreviewofpersonacreationapplicationandtrendsintheeducationaldomain AT rehamaltamime representinggroupsofstudentsaspersonasasystematicreviewofpersonacreationapplicationandtrendsintheeducationaldomain AT jonisalminen representinggroupsofstudentsaspersonasasystematicreviewofpersonacreationapplicationandtrendsintheeducationaldomain AT soongyojung representinggroupsofstudentsaspersonasasystematicreviewofpersonacreationapplicationandtrendsintheeducationaldomain AT bernardjjansen representinggroupsofstudentsaspersonasasystematicreviewofpersonacreationapplicationandtrendsintheeducationaldomain |