Are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality? Resistance among stakeholders
Abstract Immersive virtual reality (IVR), as presented through headsets, is becoming increasingly relevant in education, especially in STEM fields, due to its potential to make complex concepts more accessible. Despite empirical evidence revealing the potential of IVR, its adoption in primary school...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05702-1 |
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| author | Sarah Schnyder Josua Dubach Lucas Dall’Olio Sebastian Tempelmann Trix Cacchione Corinna S. Martarelli |
| author_facet | Sarah Schnyder Josua Dubach Lucas Dall’Olio Sebastian Tempelmann Trix Cacchione Corinna S. Martarelli |
| author_sort | Sarah Schnyder |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Immersive virtual reality (IVR), as presented through headsets, is becoming increasingly relevant in education, especially in STEM fields, due to its potential to make complex concepts more accessible. Despite empirical evidence revealing the potential of IVR, its adoption in primary schools remains low. The objective of this paper is to examine the level of acceptance and intention to use IVR among different stakeholders in Swiss primary schools. To achieve this, we conducted online questionnaires with directors (n = 37), teachers (n = 70), and parents/caregivers (n = 202). The results indicated considerable variability in the responses, with a general resistance to integrating IVR being detected across all groups. Common reasons for this resistance included high costs, technical challenges, and uncertainty about IVR’s pedagogical value. However, we found that individuals who saw value in IVR were more likely to express the intention to integrate it into their schools. We discuss the importance of bridging the gap between IVR research and the reality of school implementation through targeted projects to encourage its integration into primary education. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-00bc75a0764e4e40a6722e1840a79981 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-00bc75a0764e4e40a6722e1840a799812025-08-20T03:46:04ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-08-0112111210.1057/s41599-025-05702-1Are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality? Resistance among stakeholdersSarah Schnyder0Josua Dubach1Lucas Dall’Olio2Sebastian Tempelmann3Trix Cacchione4Corinna S. Martarelli5Faculty of Psychology, UniDistance SuisseUniversity of Teacher Education BernFaculty of Psychology, UniDistance SuisseUniversity of Teacher Education BernUniversity of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern SwitzerlandFaculty of Psychology, UniDistance SuisseAbstract Immersive virtual reality (IVR), as presented through headsets, is becoming increasingly relevant in education, especially in STEM fields, due to its potential to make complex concepts more accessible. Despite empirical evidence revealing the potential of IVR, its adoption in primary schools remains low. The objective of this paper is to examine the level of acceptance and intention to use IVR among different stakeholders in Swiss primary schools. To achieve this, we conducted online questionnaires with directors (n = 37), teachers (n = 70), and parents/caregivers (n = 202). The results indicated considerable variability in the responses, with a general resistance to integrating IVR being detected across all groups. Common reasons for this resistance included high costs, technical challenges, and uncertainty about IVR’s pedagogical value. However, we found that individuals who saw value in IVR were more likely to express the intention to integrate it into their schools. We discuss the importance of bridging the gap between IVR research and the reality of school implementation through targeted projects to encourage its integration into primary education.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05702-1 |
| spellingShingle | Sarah Schnyder Josua Dubach Lucas Dall’Olio Sebastian Tempelmann Trix Cacchione Corinna S. Martarelli Are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality? Resistance among stakeholders Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality? Resistance among stakeholders |
| title_full | Are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality? Resistance among stakeholders |
| title_fullStr | Are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality? Resistance among stakeholders |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality? Resistance among stakeholders |
| title_short | Are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality? Resistance among stakeholders |
| title_sort | are primary schools ready for immersive virtual reality resistance among stakeholders |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05702-1 |
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