From physical to virtual: The impact of mixed reality technologies on students' engagement in Kuwait universities using structural equation modeling

Abstract

This paper sought to test the impact of mixed reality technologies on student engagement in Kuwait universities. Physical reality, augmented reality, augmented virtuality, and virtual reality have been relied upon as mixed reality technologies. Moreover, behavioural, cognitive, and emotional engagement were used as measures of students' engagement according to self-determination theory. The data used in the analysis were received from 812 students in various disciplines in Kuwaiti universities with a response rate of 86.19%. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was the statistical approach used in data analysis. The results indicated varying relative importance levels for mixed reality techniques, although the relative importance level for students' engagement was high. Besides, all mixed reality technologies had a positive impact on students' engagement, with the highest impact of augmented reality and the lowest impact of augmented virtuality. This paper provided contributions to the development of an empirical approach based on new technologies to improve student engagement in developing country universities. Accordingly, the paper emphasized the need for Kuwaiti universities to invest in augmented reality technologies, for example, interactive screens and 3D mobile applications to increase students' exploratory ability.