The Impact of Racial Congruence Between Instructor and Learner on Memorization Outcomes in a Virtual Reality Environment

Jean-Christophe Sakdavong, Robin Ville

2025

Abstract

The interaction between teachers and learners is crucial for knowledge transmission and socio-emotional development. Studies have shown that ethnic congruence between teachers and students can enhance the sense of belonging, academic performance, and motivation, especially among female students. Furthermore, racial stereotypes and perceived discrimination also influence the perception of teachers' competencies, with varying effects depending on specific ethnic groups. Virtual reality (VR) offers a way to study these dynamics by controlling variables, but empirical research is still limited. It is therefore observed that multiple variables can influence the outcomes of racial congruence between students and teachers, highlighting the importance of identifying and measuring these impacts within a virtual reality context to better understand the impact of these factors in education. This study investigated the impact of racial congruence between instructors and learners on memorization outcomes within a virtual reality (VR) environment. Participants (N = 29) were randomly assigned to interact with either a racially congruent or incongruent virtual instructor while undergoing safety training in a virtual construction site. Results indicated that participants in the racially congruent condition demonstrated significantly better memorization scores compared to those in the incongruent condition. These findings highlight the potential of VR for investigating the nuances of social dynamics in educational settings and emphasize the importance of representation in learning environments.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Sakdavong J. and Ville R. (2025). The Impact of Racial Congruence Between Instructor and Learner on Memorization Outcomes in a Virtual Reality Environment. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU; ISBN 978-989-758-746-7, SciTePress, pages 917-922. DOI: 10.5220/0013199100003932

in Bibtex Style

@conference{csedu25,
author={Jean-Christophe Sakdavong and Robin Ville},
title={The Impact of Racial Congruence Between Instructor and Learner on Memorization Outcomes in a Virtual Reality Environment},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU},
year={2025},
pages={917-922},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013199100003932},
isbn={978-989-758-746-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU
TI - The Impact of Racial Congruence Between Instructor and Learner on Memorization Outcomes in a Virtual Reality Environment
SN - 978-989-758-746-7
AU - Sakdavong J.
AU - Ville R.
PY - 2025
SP - 917
EP - 922
DO - 10.5220/0013199100003932
PB - SciTePress