Examining pre-service teachers' perspectives on the integration of virtual reality in teaching world history and geography

With the introduction of virtual reality, the education sector has increasingly integrated this technology into the teaching and learning process. This paper analyzes the perspectives of preservice teachers on integrating virtual reality in the select contents of world history and geography subjects...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Roselyn Gonzales
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Social Sciences and Humanities Open
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125001172
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Summary:With the introduction of virtual reality, the education sector has increasingly integrated this technology into the teaching and learning process. This paper analyzes the perspectives of preservice teachers on integrating virtual reality in the select contents of world history and geography subjects within the social studies curriculum of a higher education institution. The research employs the Concurrent Triangulation Design methodology. It involves 41 survey respondents and 16 Focus Group Discussion participants who are pre-service social studies teachers from a state university in the Philippines. The findings reveal three significant outcomes: firstly, integrating virtual reality into world history and geography subjects enhances the perceived competence of pre-service teachers. Secondly, these pre-service teachers strongly advocate incorporating virtual learning experiences into teaching world history and geography subjects. However, a third important finding highlights the challenges associated with implementing virtual reality, including the need for increased budget allocation to purchase VR headsets and software subscriptions and mitigate the discomforts experienced by the participants while using the headsets. These challenges underscore the importance of considering resource allocation and technological infrastructure since this study was conducted in a government-funded institution of a developing economy where the budget is limited. Finally, this paper emphasizes the potential benefits and practical considerations of integrating virtual reality technology into the social studies curriculum, overcoming traditional methods by creating unique immersive learning experiences.
ISSN:2590-2911