A Review of Reviews on Virtual Reality in Educational Context: Constraints, Implications, and Research Agendas

The past decades saw a growing body of review studies on virtual reality (VR) in education. However, there is a lack of synthesis of the evidence to inform educational practices and research. This umbrella review draws evidence from existing literature to examine the constraints, implications, and research agendas of VR in education. Altogether, 83 articles consisting of 63 systematic reviews, 15 systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and 5 meta-analyses were identified from three databases (i.e., Web of Science, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore). Through thematic analysis, six key areas of challenges were noted for the use of VR in education, including technological, psychological, pedagogical/theoretical, financial, measurement, and various other issues. Additionally, several theoretical recommendations and practical guidelines were identified to inform instructors, VR designers and developers, and policymakers. Future research involved advancing theoretical development, improving the methodological approaches of current research (i.e., research design and measurements), and exploring emerging issues (e.g., transfer of learning and VR’s impact on learners’ physical and mental health) in educational VR research.