Virtual reality as a tool for supporting dyslexic students: Insights from a systematic literature review

Abstract

Over the past few decades, virtual reality (VR) has attracted significant academic interest due to its potential to transform traditional educational experiences into highly engaging and interactive environments. VR technology, with its immersive learning capabilities, has been rigorously tested and developed in STEM education and other disciplines, showing promising results. Students with dyslexia, who often struggle with accurate or fluent word recognition and spelling skills, face challenges that traditional learning materials do not effectively address. This study focuses on students with dyslexia, exploring the current state of VR-based learning materials in primary and secondary education. It presents a systematic literature review of articles published between 2018 and 2023 to analyse the development of this field over the past five years, the types of VR technology used, and the benefits for dyslexic students at different educational stages. The results reveal that the use of VR for developing learning materials for students with dyslexia is still in its early stages and relatively limited. These findings may guide teachers and curriculum designers in leveraging VR to better support students with dyslexia, and they highlight the need for further empirical research in this area.