Impact of 360° VR on empathy of pre-service teachers: An experimental study

As a key professional competence of teachers, empathy involves whether teachers can stand in the student’s position to pay attention, understand their behavior, and make reasonable judgment and explanation of it. Researchers have discovered that 360° virtual reality (360° VR), a relatively recent fo...

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Main Author: Yiling Hu, Yanjun Chen, Bian Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: International Forum of Educational Technology & Society 2025-01-01
Series:Educational Technology & Society
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Online Access:https://www.j-ets.net/collection/published-issues/28_1#h.iuksuzwolpy9
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author Yiling Hu, Yanjun Chen, Bian Wu
author_facet Yiling Hu, Yanjun Chen, Bian Wu
author_sort Yiling Hu, Yanjun Chen, Bian Wu
collection DOAJ
description As a key professional competence of teachers, empathy involves whether teachers can stand in the student’s position to pay attention, understand their behavior, and make reasonable judgment and explanation of it. Researchers have discovered that 360° virtual reality (360° VR), a relatively recent form of media, can be particularly powerful in encouraging individuals to adopt different perspectives and understand the world from others’ viewpoints. But few studies have explored the use of 360° VR in teachers’ empathy fostering and the influence of 360° VR on empathy are underexplored. Hence, this study aims to investigate the potential impact of 360° VR on the cultivation of pre-service teachers’ empathy, particularly in comparison to traditional media forms, and explored the impact of user experiences such as immersion, engagement, and discomfort in 360° VR. We use an experimental design to compare the impact of different media (i.e., 360° VR, 2D video, and text-image) on pre-service teachers’ empathy. Our main findings indicate that: (1) 360° VR group showed significantly higher level of empathy than 2D video and text-image groups; (2) immersion positively correlated with engagement and empathy, while engagement negatively correlated with discomfort. The study suggests the viability of utilizing 360° VR for training pre-service teachers’ empathy, but it requires an integration of effective learning activities and scaffolding design.
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spelling doaj-art-325e47cfcb6f4a71901fb2335826adf72025-08-20T03:10:22ZengInternational Forum of Educational Technology & SocietyEducational Technology & Society1176-36471436-45222025-01-01281371382https://doi.org/10.30191/ETS.202501_28(1).SP04Impact of 360° VR on empathy of pre-service teachers: An experimental studyYiling Hu, Yanjun Chen, Bian WuAs a key professional competence of teachers, empathy involves whether teachers can stand in the student’s position to pay attention, understand their behavior, and make reasonable judgment and explanation of it. Researchers have discovered that 360° virtual reality (360° VR), a relatively recent form of media, can be particularly powerful in encouraging individuals to adopt different perspectives and understand the world from others’ viewpoints. But few studies have explored the use of 360° VR in teachers’ empathy fostering and the influence of 360° VR on empathy are underexplored. Hence, this study aims to investigate the potential impact of 360° VR on the cultivation of pre-service teachers’ empathy, particularly in comparison to traditional media forms, and explored the impact of user experiences such as immersion, engagement, and discomfort in 360° VR. We use an experimental design to compare the impact of different media (i.e., 360° VR, 2D video, and text-image) on pre-service teachers’ empathy. Our main findings indicate that: (1) 360° VR group showed significantly higher level of empathy than 2D video and text-image groups; (2) immersion positively correlated with engagement and empathy, while engagement negatively correlated with discomfort. The study suggests the viability of utilizing 360° VR for training pre-service teachers’ empathy, but it requires an integration of effective learning activities and scaffolding design. https://www.j-ets.net/collection/published-issues/28_1#h.iuksuzwolpy9empathy360° vrpre-service teacherteachers’ empathyeducation equity
spellingShingle Yiling Hu, Yanjun Chen, Bian Wu
Impact of 360° VR on empathy of pre-service teachers: An experimental study
Educational Technology & Society
empathy
360° vr
pre-service teacher
teachers’ empathy
education equity
title Impact of 360° VR on empathy of pre-service teachers: An experimental study
title_full Impact of 360° VR on empathy of pre-service teachers: An experimental study
title_fullStr Impact of 360° VR on empathy of pre-service teachers: An experimental study
title_full_unstemmed Impact of 360° VR on empathy of pre-service teachers: An experimental study
title_short Impact of 360° VR on empathy of pre-service teachers: An experimental study
title_sort impact of 360° vr on empathy of pre service teachers an experimental study
topic empathy
360° vr
pre-service teacher
teachers’ empathy
education equity
url https://www.j-ets.net/collection/published-issues/28_1#h.iuksuzwolpy9
work_keys_str_mv AT yilinghuyanjunchenbianwu impactof360vronempathyofpreserviceteachersanexperimentalstudy