Digital badges, do they live up to the hype?

There has been much hype in relation to the emergence of digital badging in education. This paper seeks to determine whether digital badges indeed live up to this hype through a systematic review of 23 empirical studies. A series of evaluative research questions have been formulated to guide the analysis of the research literature along with selection criteria to unearth relevant studies. Analysis of this body of work suggests that digital badges can improve student engagement and motivation. However, this finding is not universal with some studies determining no benefit and others reporting negative outcomes. It is clear that further research is necessary particularly with more diverse disciplinary contexts. © 2018 British Educational Research Association