Let’s Talk About Race: The Use of Virtual Reality in Improving Higher Education Students’ Understanding of Privilege

Abstract

The prevalence of virtual reality (VR) is growing in many educational spaces. Yet while explored extensively in medical science research, there is a need for more studies on VR in educational and social science research. The present study explores the use of VR to teach higher education students about anti-racism content, specifically about privilege. Recognizing privilege is central to learning about anti-racism since it helps people understand each other’s social location, intersectionalities, and access to services. We implemented a two-staged mixed-methods research design, with the first stage consisting of a survey design and the second relying on interview data. Participants volunteered either for stage one or for both stages. Twenty-three students participated in stage one, while 11 participated in both stages. The findings reveal that the VR module promoted the participants’: 1) layered understanding of privilege; 2) critical reflection on their privilege; and 3) impetus to engage in more advocacy around the misuse of privilege. The findings point to a need for more strategies that specifically detail how to address the abuse of privilege in order to increase people’s comfort in conducting this type of advocacy. The research contributes to a growing body of studies on VR’s ability to improve participants’ understanding of complex humanistic principles, such as privilege.