Immersive Technologies and Learning in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review of Adoption, Engagement, and Skill Development

Abstract

The increasing adoption of immersive technologies in higher education has transformed digital learning environments by ena-bling interactive, experiential, and learner-centered pedagogies. Despite the growing body of research, existing evidence re-mains fragmented across technologies, disciplines, and educational outcomes. Therefore, this study systematically reviews em-pirical research on virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and extended reality (XR) in higher educa-tion to synthesize patterns of technology adoption, learning outcomes, disciplinary applications, and geographical distribution while identifying existing research gaps. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature review was conducted on 61 empirical studies published between 2018 and 2025 and indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. Descriptive and thematic analyses revealed that research is concentrated in education, health sciences, and engineering, with VR emerging as the most widely adopted immersive technology, followed by XR and AR, whereas MR remains relatively underexplored. The findings further indicate that immersive technologies predominantly enhance cognitive learning outcomes, professional competencies, and affective engagement through experiential learning approaches, while behavioral engagement, self-belief, psychomotor abilities, social interaction, and communication skills receive comparatively limited scholarly attention. Geographically, research output is heavily concentrated in Europe and East Asia, highlighting significant regional disparities. Overall, immersive technologies demonstrate substantial potential to improve higher education learning experiences, but important gaps remain in technology diversity, disciplinary coverage, engagement measurement, and global representation.