doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2026.16.11.2745
Exploring the Effects of Virtual Reality-based Learning on Motivation and Academic Achievement in Elementary Education
Deefallah Alshorman1,*
,
Hebah Alkhasoneh2 ,
Wael Mohammad Alshurman3 ,
Rakez Al-Ararah1
- 1Department of Elementary Teacher Education, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
- 2Department of Geography, School of Arts, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
- 3Faculty of Educational Sciences, Department of Psychological Sciences and Special Education, Al al-Bayt University, Mafraq, Jordan
- Manuscript receivedMay 18, 2026
- revisedJune 5, 2026
- acceptedJuly 9, 2026
- publishedNovember 12, 2026
Abstract
With the integration of immersive technologies into education, teachers and students have gained new opportunities to foster student engagement, boost student motivation, and enhance conceptual understanding. Using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design, this study examined the effects of Virtual Reality (VR)-based learning environments on elementary students’ academic achievement and motivation in a science education program. Participants were 46 sixth-grade students at a public elementary school in Amman, Jordan, divided into an experimental group and a control group. Students in the control group received traditional science instruction, whereas those in the experimental group participated in a program that introduced them to the Solar System through an immersive VR-based learning environment. Scores on the academic achievement test and motivation scale showed that, after the intervention, students in the experimental group attained higher short-term academic achievement and reported greater motivation toward science learning than those in the control group. The responses from students in the experimental group on the post-intervention questionnaire reflected high levels of engagement, enjoyment, and curiosity during the VR sessions. Within the constraints of this small-scale, quasi-experimental design, these findings provide preliminary evidence that participation in a VR-supported Solar System unit was associated with higher short-term academic achievement and stronger motivation toward science learning in this specific context, rather than establishing the general effectiveness of VR in transforming science learning.
Keywords
- Virtual Reality (VR)
- immersive learning
- elementary education
- science motivation
- academic achievement
- Solar System
- educational technology
How to Cite
Deefallah Alshorman, Hebah Alkhasoneh, Wael Mohammad Alshurman, and Rakez Al-Ararah, "Exploring the Effects of Virtual Reality-based Learning on Motivation and Academic Achievement in Elementary Education," International Journal of Information and Education Technology, vol. 16, no. 11, pp. 2934-2942, 2026. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijiet.2026.16.11.2745
Copyright & License
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).