Publication:
Meta-Analysis Assessing the Effects of Virtual Reality Training on Student Learning and Skills Development

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (1.05 MB)
9,950 downloads
English Text (180.41 KB)
149 downloads
Date
2021-03
ISSN
Published
2021-03
Author(s)
Castillo-Castro, Catalina
Hoyos, Angela
Editor(s)
Abstract
Training using virtual reality has been applied in many fields of education, but primarily in the fields of health and safety, engineering and technical education, and general education. Numerous studies assessing the use of immersive training in education have yielded promising results in educational outcomes, but there is not yet in the literature a systematic analysis of the effects of virtual reality training on student learning. This paper presents a meta-analysis of the results of available studies that assess virtual reality training’s impact on student learning and skills development, and which rely on robust evaluation methods. The study’s primary purpose is to identify the extent to which immersive training can successfully develop students’ skills across different fields of education and the size of the effects encountered. The analysis presented here relies on 31 primary studies and more than 90 experiments. The results indicate that, on average, virtual reality training is more effective than traditional training in developing technical, practical, and socio-emotional skills. The results are particularly promising in fields related to health and safety, engineering, and technical education. The results also indicate that students who are exposed to virtual reality training are more efficient in using inputs and time and/or avoiding performance errors than students receiving traditional training.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Castillo-Castro, Catalina; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Hoyos, Angela. 2021. Meta-Analysis Assessing the Effects of Virtual Reality Training on Student Learning and Skills Development. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9587. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35299 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
  • Publication
    The Future of Poverty
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-15) Fajardo-Gonzalez, Johanna; Nguyen, Minh C.; Corral, Paul
    Climate change is increasingly acknowledged as a critical issue with far-reaching socioeconomic implications that extend well beyond environmental concerns. Among the most pressing challenges is its impact on global poverty. This paper projects the potential impacts of unmitigated climate change on global poverty rates between 2023 and 2050. Building on a study that provided a detailed analysis of how temperature changes affect economic productivity, this paper integrates those findings with binned data from 217 countries, sourced from the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform. By simulating poverty rates and the number of poor under two climate change scenarios, the paper uncovers some alarming trends. One of the primary findings is that the number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide could be nearly doubled due to climate change. In all scenarios, Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to bear the brunt, contributing the largest number of poor people, with estimates ranging between 40.5 million and 73.5 million by 2050. Another significant finding is the disproportionate impact of inequality on poverty. Even small increases in inequality can lead to substantial rises in poverty levels. For instance, if every country’s Gini coefficient increases by just 1 percent between 2022 and 2050, an additional 8.8 million people could be pushed below the international poverty line by 2050. In a more extreme scenario, where every country’s Gini coefficient increases by 10 percent between 2022 and 2050, the number of people falling into poverty could rise by an additional 148.8 million relative to the baseline scenario. These findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive climate policies that not only mitigate environmental impacts but also address socioeconomic vulnerabilities.
  • Publication
    Exports, Labor Markets, and the Environment
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-14) Góes, Carlos; Conceição, Otavio; Lara Ibarra, Gabriel; Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys
    What is the environmental impact of exports? Focusing on 2000–20, this paper combines customs, administrative, and census microdata to estimate employment elasticities with respect to exports. The findings show that municipalities that faced increased exports experienced faster growth in formal employment. The elasticities were 0.25 on impact, peaked at 0.4, and remained positive and significant even 10 years after the shock, pointing to a long and protracted labor market adjustment. In the long run, informal employment responds negatively to export shocks. Using a granular taxonomy for economic activities based on their environmental impact, the paper documents that environmentally risky activities have a larger share of employment than environmentally sustainable ones, and that the relationship between these activities and exports is nuanced. Over the short run, environmentally risky employment responds more strongly to exports relative to environmentally sustainable employment. However, over the long run, this pattern reverses, as the impact of exports on environmentally sustainable employment is more persistent.
  • Publication
    The Macroeconomic Implications of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Options
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-29) Abalo, Kodzovi; Boehlert, Brent; Bui, Thanh; Burns, Andrew; Castillo, Diego; Chewpreecha, Unnada; Haider, Alexander; Hallegatte, Stephane; Jooste, Charl; McIsaac, Florent; Ruberl, Heather; Smet, Kim; Strzepek, Ken
    Estimating the macroeconomic implications of climate change impacts and adaptation options is a topic of intense research. This paper presents a framework in the World Bank's macrostructural model to assess climate-related damages. This approach has been used in many Country Climate and Development Reports, a World Bank diagnostic that identifies priorities to ensure continued development in spite of climate change and climate policy objectives. The methodology captures a set of impact channels through which climate change affects the economy by (1) connecting a set of biophysical models to the macroeconomic model and (2) exploring a set of development and climate scenarios. The paper summarizes the results for five countries, highlighting the sources and magnitudes of their vulnerability --- with estimated gross domestic product losses in 2050 exceeding 10 percent of gross domestic product in some countries and scenarios, although only a small set of impact channels is included. The paper also presents estimates of the macroeconomic gains from sector-level adaptation interventions, considering their upfront costs and avoided climate impacts and finding significant net gross domestic product gains from adaptation opportunities identified in the Country Climate and Development Reports. Finally, the paper discusses the limits of current modeling approaches, and their complementarity with empirical approaches based on historical data series. The integrated modeling approach proposed in this paper can inform policymakers as they make proactive decisions on climate change adaptation and resilience.
  • Publication
    The Asymmetric Bank Distress Amplifier of Recessions
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-11) Kim, Dohan
    One defining feature of financial crises, evident in U.S. and international data, is asymmetric bank distress—concentrated losses on a subset of banks. This paper proposes a model in which shocks to borrowers’ productivity dispersion lead to asymmetric bank losses. The framework exhibits a “bank distress amplifier,” exacerbating economic downturns by causing costly bank failures and raising uncertainty about the solvency of banks, thereby pushing banks to deleverage. Quantitative analysis shows that the bank distress amplifier doubles investment decline and increases the spread by 2.5 times during the Great Recession compared to a standard financial accelerator model. The mechanism helps explain how a seemingly small shock can sometimes trigger a large crisis.
  • Publication
    Impact of Heat Waves on Learning Outcomes and the Role of Conditional Cash Transfers
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-14) Miranda, Juan José; Contreras, Cesar
    This paper evaluates the impact of higher temperatures on learning outcomes in Peru. The results suggest that 1 degree above 20°C is equivalent to 7 and 6 percent of a standard deviation of what a student learns in a year for math and reading tests, respectively. These results hold true when the main specification is changed, splitting the sample, collapsing the data at school level, and using other climate specifications. The paper aims to improve understanding of how to deal with the impacts of climate change on learning outcomes in developing countries. The evidence suggests that conditional cash transfer programs can mitigate the negative effects of higher temperatures on students’ learning outcomes in math and reading.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Accelerating Learning in Ecuador's Technical Institutes
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-17) Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Chinen, Marjorie
    This study evaluates the impact of incorporating mixed reality—including both augmented and virtual reality—into auto-mechanics training for students enrolled in selected public technical technological institutes in Ecuador. The intervention aims to enhance students' understanding of automotive mechanics by teaching the fundamental principles of internal combustion engine operation through nine competency-based learning modules delivered over one academic semester. The study employed a stratified randomized controlled trial at the class level, assigning auto-mechanic classes within each institute to either the mixed reality–enhanced training laboratory (treatment) or the standard curriculum (control). To measure learning outcomes, students completed pre- and post-intervention cognitive tests, complemented by student surveys assessing technology usability, motivation, and engagement. This comprehensive approach enabled the study to quantify the effects of the training on student learning and identify mechanisms through which learning occurred. The results indicate that students exposed to mixed reality–based instruction scored, on average, 0.37 standard deviation higher on post-tests than those in the control group—a statistically significant effect at the 1 percent level. These findings are consistent with effect sizes observed in training programs aimed at college students in high-income countries. The evidence also points to increased engagement and motivation as key channels through which mixed reality enhanced learning, underscoring the potential of immersive technologies to improve vocational training outcomes in low- and middle-income settings.
  • Publication
    Assessing the Role of International Organizations in the Development of the Social Enterprise Sector
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-03) Hoyos, Angela; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.
    This paper examines the contribution of international organizations to the development of the social enterprise sector worldwide, and assesses the types of programs and policies international organizations are using to promote this agenda globally. The results indicate that international organizations' support to the social enterprise sector has consisted primarily of providing financial resources, notably grants. However, international organizations' contributions to developing sector-specific policies have been limited. Furthermore, many programs that are supported by international organizations remain largely unassessed. The paper proposes a set of policy recommendations directed primarily to international organizations and the public administration, to improve and enhance the development of the social enterprise sector.
  • Publication
    Using Student and Teacher Assessments to Design More Pertinent In-Service Teacher Training
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-08) Burgos-Davila, Sebastian; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.
    The development of pertinent and effective in-service teacher training remains a policy challenge for many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ecuador stands out as a country in the region that has made significant investments in teacher training in the past decade. However, most in-service training provision has been designed without enough elements to properly address teachers' skills gaps. This paper proposes a roadmap for improving the design of in-service teacher training in Ecuador using available data from student and teacher assessments. Although countries in the region have made important efforts to carry out periodic evaluations of student and teacher performance, the data resulting from these evaluations are rarely used to guide teacher development programs. The analysis presented in this paper suggests that doing so has the potential to raise program pertinence while allowing the prioritization of investments in teachers and students with the greatest needs.
  • Publication
    A Skills-Based Human Capital Framework to Understand the Phenomenon of Youth Economic Disengagement
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-02) Mayer Gukovas, Renata; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.
    This paper revisits traditional human capital models and proposes a new conceptual framework of human capital accumulation, anchored in skills development, to illustrate the phenomenon and implications of youth economic disengagement. In the framework, youth economic disengagement is defined as a state (temporary or permanent) where individuals stop accumulating human capital due to inadequate access and quality of opportunities for skills development through formal education and employment. Total economic disengagement is a rational choice that individuals make when (i) the formal education system and labor market do not contribute to build skills that are valued by the labor market, and (ii) the costs related to economic engagement (that is, studying and working) surpass its benefits. The phenomenon of economic disengagement has lifelong implications that not only constrain and restrain future earnings, but also undermine prospects for improvements in productivity and economic growth.
  • Publication
    Can Digital Personalized Learning for Mathematics Remediation Level the Playing Field in Higher Education?
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-07-10) Angel-Urdinola, Diego; Chinen, Marjorie
    Many Ecuadorian students entering higher education have cognitive skills gaps in mathematics that undermine their ability to assimilate academic contents. This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial assessing the effects on academic outcomes of a Digital Personalized Learning Software for mathematics remediation (the ALEKS software) offered to first-year students entering technical and technological higher education programs in Ecuador amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibility to use the software led to a large and marginally significant decline in the probability of repeating a course, as well as a very large positive impact on standardized test scores in math. The analysis finds no impact on the probability of enrolling in the third semester. When disaggregating the impacts, the findings show that the effects on repetition are particularly large for male students, possibly because of higher male enrollment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. When assessing the potential mechanisms, the findings show evidence that the software led to a net increase in hours dedicated to studying mathematics. The results suggest that Digital Personalized Learning Software can be a cost-effective solution for math remediation with potential for large-scale application.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Empowerment in Practice : From Analysis to Implementation
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006) Alsop, Ruth; Bertelsen, Mette; Holland, Jeremy
    This book represents an effort to present an easily accessible framework to readers, especially those for whom empowerment remains a puzzling development concern, conceptually and in application. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 explains how the empowerment framework can be used for understanding, measuring, monitoring, and operationalizing empowerment policy and practice. Part 2 presents summaries of each of the five country studies, using them to discuss how the empowerment framework can be applied in very different country and sector contexts and what lessons can be learned from these test cases. While this book can offer only a limited empirical basis for the positive association between empowerment and development outcomes, it does add to the body of work supporting the existence of such a relationship. Perhaps more importantly, it also provides a framework for future research to test the association and to prioritize practical interventions seeking to empower individuals and groups.
  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, January 2025
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16) World Bank
    Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2004
    (World Bank, 2003) World Bank
    Too often, services fail poor people in access, in quality, and in affordability. But the fact that there are striking examples where basic services such as water, sanitation, health, education, and electricity do work for poor people means that governments and citizens can do a better job of providing them. Learning from success and understanding the sources of failure, this year’s World Development Report, argues that services can be improved by putting poor people at the center of service provision. How? By enabling the poor to monitor and discipline service providers, by amplifying their voice in policymaking, and by strengthening the incentives for providers to serve the poor. Freedom from illness and freedom from illiteracy are two of the most important ways poor people can escape from poverty. To achieve these goals, economic growth and financial resources are of course necessary, but they are not enough. The World Development Report provides a practical framework for making the services that contribute to human development work for poor people. With this framework, citizens, governments, and donors can take action and accelerate progress toward the common objective of poverty reduction, as specified in the Millennium Development Goals.
  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, June 2025
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10) World Bank
    The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.
  • Publication
    Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05) World Bank
    Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.