The Status of Teachers' Application of Virtual Reality in the Schools of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Programs in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the status of virtual reality in institutions and mainstreaming classrooms of students who are deaf and hard of hearing as implemented by the teachers. The participants of this study )n= 482) were teachers from different cities and districts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Based on the theoretical framework of this study, the instrument was built for this study after adopting items of related studies. The instrument followed the procedures of validity and reliability. The instrument had three dimensions: teachers’ awareness of virtual reality, obstacles of implementing virtual reality in schools, and measuring the motivation level of teachers of students who were deaf and hard of hearing toward implementing virtual reality in their schools. The results of the study indicated that teachers were unaware of virtual reality applications; moreover, there were many obstacles for implementing virtual reality in schools. The results also indicated that the teachers’ motivation' levels were positive and significant differences among teachers were registered regarding the variables of teachers' qualifications, years of teaching experience, and class level. Finally, the study proposed several recommendations and suggestions based on the results.