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Short abstract:

Embedding IVR experiences into the curriculum through collaborative work between students and teachers, could transform spaces and relationships in the classroom. It could lead to the development of digital literacy skills, and the cultural and social capital, of both students and teachers.

Long abstract:

Record numbers of U.K. teachers left the profession in 2023 (Henshaw, 2023), an issue which disproportionately impacts the most disadvantaged schools (Amitai & Van Houtte, 2022). These statistics also run alongside record student absences, and year on year increases in children being home-schooled in the wake of the pandemic (Adams, 2024). Student behaviour in schools has also been cited as an exacerbating issue, with NASUWT finding that 90% of teachers experienced verbal abuse or violence in their report published in 2023. Additionally, 25% of pupils reported feeling unsafe at school in 2023 (Weale, 2024). Considering these statistics together demonstrates how strengthening the relationships between teachers, students and schools has never been more important.

IVR not only has the potential to open up the space of the classroom by offering access to different places and perspectives, its presence in classrooms could also spark the beginning of a transformative approach to teaching and learning. IVR demonstrates potential in enabling experiential learning, but also through access to and engagement with the technology itself, which could make positive contributions to students’ and teachers’ digital literacy skills. This also feeds into the development of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986). Building on the development of digital literacy through IVR could enable an environment where teachers and students collaborate and share ideas for integrating IVR into the classroom and curriculum, enabling meaningful integration of the technology and building positive relationships through and with technology. This feeds into the development of social capital (Bourdieu, 1986).