Exploring the specification of educational compatibility of virtual reality within a technology acceptance model

This study investigated the specification of educational compatibility within a technology acceptance model (TAM) suited to engaging educational technologies. Attitudes towards virtual reality (VR) for learning was used to test the experimental model. One hundred and seventy-nine valid survey responses were collected from 517 potential participants with the majority from first-year university students. The independent variables were educational compatibility, cognitive engagement, social influence, system attributes, perceived anxiety and facilitating conditions. Exploratory factor analysis showed that educational compatibility and attitude were collinear, and therefore were combined into one construct. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the combined educational compatibility-attitude construct and perceived usefulness were not discriminant. Two structural models were therefore compared: one where educational compatibility-attitude items were incorporated within perceived usefulness, and another where educational compatibility-attitude items were excluded entirely. The results showed that incorporating educational compatibility-attitude items within perceived usefulness affected the influence of cognitive engagement and system attributes on perceived usefulness, though overall model power was unchanged. The results suggested that (a) educational compatibility and attitude could be redundant, and (b) incorporating educational compatibility into perceived usefulness may help specify educationally focused TAMs. Implications for practice or policy: • Researchers may regard educational compatibility and attitude to be redundant and exclude them from TAMs as separate constructs. • Researchers could consider tailoring the perceived usefulness construct to make it more specific to the educational context, for example by including one or more educational compatibility items.