Predicting teachers’ intentions to use virtual reality in education: a study based on the UTAUT-2 framework

Ali Geriş; Taibe  Kulaksız

doi:10.25304/rlt.v33.3429

Ali Geriş Department of Computer Education & Instructional Technology, Faculty of Education, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2136-5490
Taibe Kulaksız Institute for Arts, Music and Media, Heidelberg University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7960-7440

DOI: https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v33.3429

Keywords: virtual reality, technology acceptance, behavioral intention, UTAUT, teacher education

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing teachers’ intentions to integrate Virtual Reality (VR) technology into their educational practices, utilising the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT-2) framework. The research involved adapting and validating the ‘Acceptance of Mobile Immersive Virtual Reality in Secondary Education Teachers’ scale to the Turkish context, ensuring cultural relevance and psychometric reliability. Data were collected from 213 in-service teachers with prior experience in using VR in education. The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed the validity of the adapted scale. The findings indicate that effort expectancy, social influence, personal innovativeness and hedonic motivation significantly predict teachers’ behavioural intentions to adopt VR technology. However, contrary to expectations, performance expectancy and facilitating conditions did not show a significant impact. These results underscore the importance of focusing on the ease of use and social support mechanisms, as well as fostering a culture of innovation amongst educators, to successfully integrate VR into educational settings.

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Author Biographies

Ali Geriş, Department of Computer Education & Instructional Technology, Faculty of Education, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Türkiye

Ali Geriş is a PhD in the Faculty of Education, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Türkiye. His research interests focus on instructional technologies, virtual and extended reality. Specifically: developing VR/XR apps, learning in immersive environments and technical specifications of VR/XR systems.

Taibe Kulaksız, Institute for Arts, Music and Media, Heidelberg University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany

Taibe Kulaksız is a postdoctoral researcher at the Heidelberg University of Education. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Education and Instructional Technologies. Her research focuses on technology integration in education, teacher education, instructional technology and media education.

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