Immersive learning promise and classroom practice: a qualitative study of cultural barriers and human factors in UAE VR integration

Rana Zein, Osama Taani, Rafiq Hijazi, Jason Johnson

Virtual Reality (VR) being an promising tool for immersive learning nowadays, nevertheless, in K-12 classrooms across the UAE, it's still underexplored thus highlighting a research gap in VR in the UAE context. This study collected data from twenty-five teachers in a single UAE private school who used VR with their students. Using qualitative focus group interviews and data thematic analysis, the study explores the teachers' hands-on experiences, perceived educational impacts, challenges, and practical considerations regarding VR integration in the UAE educational context. The findings discussed the discrepancies of VR's perceived educational benefits and the issues associated with integrating VR into education. Themes identified include student involvement and engagement in VR learning, lack of cultural-related curriculum for Arabic implementation, strategies used by teachers to create innovative solutions for classroom delivery with the lack of resources, technical barriers for both students and teachers, and safety-related issues concerning young children using VR technology. One point that emerged was the difference in what VR was presumed to accomplish regarding teaching and learning and how effective VR is when being actively implemented in an actual educational environment. This study highlights the need for Emirati localized content development, robust infrastructure, and continuous educational support to benefit from the VR's full potential. This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on immersive learning by providing a detailed, context-specific model for VR adoption in a non-Western educational system, offering valuable understandings for educators, policymakers, and technology developers.