Systematic Review: Influences of Fully Immersive Virtual Reality on Students’ Motivation in Learning Science

Abstract Enhancing students’ motivation to learn science is crucial for fostering critical thinking and scientific reasoning and preparing a workforce equipped to meet societal and industrial demands. Fully immersive virtual reality ( FIVR ) has been proposed as a tool to boost student engagement and motivation in science education. However, the field lacks comprehensive reviews on its effectiveness. This systematic review analyzes 39 studies from the past decade to map the research landscape on FIVR ’s influence on students’ motivation in science learning. Using VOSviewer for co-occurrence mapping and textual analysis, this study’s findings revealed that FIVR had a positive impact on motivation, self-efficacy, and interest in science learning. Despite these benefits, limitations such as low-quality simulations, small sample sizes, and methodological biases highlight the need for further research on effective learning designs and strategies, particularly in physics education.