Exploring the Factors Influencing the Adoption of Virtual Reality by Students in Higher Education Institutions: Evidence from China

Abstract

Although higher education institutions have made certain progress in the application of virtual reality (VR) in education in recent years, the actual adoption rate among students is still not satisfactory, which affects its promotion effect. Previous studies mostly focused on the single perspective of the technology acceptance model, and rarely systematically explored the combined mechanism of individual and organizational factors, especially the empirical analysis of the mediating effect of use intention was relatively scarce. To explore the key paths influencing students' adoption of VR, this study, based on the Unified Theory of Technology Acceptance and Use (UTAUT), introduces technology-related individual factors to construct and verify the theoretical model. Taking 399 students from higher education institutions as samples, an empirical analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS. The results show that both technology-related individual factors and organizational factors have a significant positive impact on students' adoption of VR, and the intention to use plays a partial mediating role between the two types of factors and adoption. This research enriches the theoretical system in the field of educational technology adoption, provides practical paths for higher education to increase the adoption rate of VR, and also offers references for policymakers to optimize resource allocation.