Exploring the Opportunity to Use Virtual Reality for the Education of Children with Disabilities
Ioana Bianca Chițu, Alina Simona Tecău, Cristinel Constantin, Bianca Tescașiu, Tamara-Oana Brătucu, Gabriel Brătucu, Ioana-Mădălina Purcaru
Abstract
Inclusive education represents one of the most challenging aspects of modern education. In recent years, a major challenge in achieving inclusivity in education has been to find modern tools that might adapt the teaching process to the needs of children with disabilities. This article investigates the possibility to use virtual reality (VR) technology to improve the learning process of children with disabilities. In this regard, a qualitative study based on the Focus Group method was conducted among 31 specialists who work with children with disabilities, with the aim of identifying potential opportunities and limits of using VR technology in the education of this category of children. The research results reveal that for most of the interviewees the VR application was a new experience; they appreciated that this technology could improve the educational process for children with disabilities and it could become a useful tool to support the education of such children. These results could have a positive impact on the activities carried out by policymakers, academia, and the economic environment in their efforts to implement policies aimed at improving the inclusive education system. To this end, some VR applications could be developed in a collaborative system involving IT companies and universities in the designing and implementation of these applications.