Exploring Immersive Virtual Reality in Higher Education: Research Gap and Future Direction—A Scoping Review

Abstract

The rapid advancement of technology in the post-COVID-19 era has positioned immersive learning as a transformative approach to enhance educational experiences. Despite its vast potential, recent research developments reveal persistent challenges and gaps that impede widespread adoption. This study conducts a scoping review using the PRISMA methodology to systematically analyze current literature, identify research gaps, seek the challenge, and propose future research directions. From an initial pool of 414 papers, 75 were selected, comprising 60 research studies and 15 review papers. Notably, 55 studies focus on immersive virtual reality (IVR) purely for educational enhancement in traditional academic settings, while 20 explore the implementation of IVR in education with gaming activities. The analysis indicates a predominance of mixed-methods research within education, computer engineering, and computer science. Most studies are limited by short durations (typically 30 minutes) and small participant groups (under 50), raising concerns about the generalizability of findings. Key themes identified include learning context (21 papers), learning design strategies (ten papers), and immersion elements such as avatars and haptic feedback (six papers). While positive impacts like increased satisfaction, motivation, engagement, knowledge enhancement, and usability are reported, negative effects such as motion sickness (13 papers) and dizziness (11 papers) persist. Crucially, only 11 studies exhibit high statistical power, underscoring the need for more robust research designs. Challenges identified encompass participant limitations, homogeneity, user discomfort, hardware unfamiliarity, and cognitive load—all intricately linked to design strategies. The implications of this review highlight the necessity for future research to focus on long-term studies, optimize user experience, develop cost-effective content creation methods, and integrate gamification into learning design. Addressing these areas is essential for overcoming current barriers and fully realizing the potential of immersive learning in education.

Keywords

• Higher education
• immersive learning
• learning design
• scoping review
• virtual reality