LONDON — Video games are likely to become part of the English school curriculum after research funded by the Department for Education praised them as a powerful learning tool.

It may surprise some parents struggling to control their children’s addiction, but games on computers and consoles were found to be “a compelling learning resource.”

“The strategies for successful game-playing are increasingly complex, sophisticated, challenging, and cerebral. This edges games towards the very heart of where learning is headed,” the filmmaker and government adviser, who launched the report Wednesday, Lord Puttnam, said.

The report said the games were found to promote ideas, stimulate conversation, challenge thinking, and encourage problem solving. They also acted as a motivational tool to “make learning fun.”

One school in Nottingham reported an increase in pupils passing tests in key skills — mathematics, English, and information technology — to 94% after incorporating the game Neverwinger Nights into its teaching. The Department wanted to examine opportunities for a more sophisticated use of the computer technology in schools, which costs $939 million a year. It was organized through the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, which is keen to explore the education market.

Head teachers said they were not surprised by the findings. Richard Cairns, who is the headmaster of Brighton College, an independent school, said two history-based computer games were sometimes used to engage students.