Dutch teachers' perception of the educational potential of virtual reality

Abstract

The educational value of virtual reality has been extensively theorised over, yet practical tests have been scattered and disparate. The aim of this baseline study was to analyse Dutch secondary school science teachers’ perceptions of the educational value of virtual reality. This was done with the intent of finding avenues for further research and innovation of educational virtual reality. The research was done using a questionnaire that was completed by 115 participants. The results were analysed as a whole sample but also subdivided into smaller groups based upon participants’ teaching subject, secondary school level, gender and years of teaching experience. On the whole participants showed a positive, yet hesitant, inclination toward educational virtual reality. They saw the appeal for students but were tentative to applying it in their own lessons. The highest demand for it was in the VWO biology curriculum domain of organism-level metabolism (domein-B3) and it was VMBO teachers, biology teachers and teachers that were still in the beginning phase of their career that were most enthusiastic about educational virtual reality. Primary difficulties faced in this project were the fact that the presence of participation bias could neither be confirmed nor disproven and that the 6-point Likert scale used in the questionnaire was not ideally suited for the responses received. The results obtained here were general inclinations of the Dutch secondary school teaching populace and further research should be aimed at receiving more exact answers.