Educational UTAUT-based virtual reality acceptance scale: a validity and reliability study

This study aims to fill a gap in current research on virtual reality (VR) by developing a valid and reliable educational VR acceptance scale based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model to measure the level of students’ acceptance and use of VR systems. In three phases, the reliability and validity studies of the scale were performed with a total sample of 440 second, third, and fourth-year undergraduate students studying at various faculties in the 2021–2022 academic year. The face validity and content validity of the scale were examined by obtaining expert opinions. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out with the first group of samples (n = 186) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out with the second group of samples (n = 219). After conducting EFA, the scale had four factors with 18 items, explaining 67.62 percent of the total variance. According to CFA, the construct of the 4-factor with 21 items scale had a good fit with the data. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and test–retest methods reliability coefficient of scale that were calculated to determine the reliability of the measurements were found to be .88 and .89, respectively. The discriminatory power of the items was examined by comparing the participants’ bottom 27 percent and top 27 percent and calculating adjusted item-total correlations. The findings revealed that the educational UTAUT-based virtual reality acceptance scale was a valid and reliable instrument to measure students’ acceptance and use of VR systems.