Immersive virtual reality in upper secondary history education: the case of the Anne Frank House VR

Abstract

Immersive virtual reality opens new learning opportunities across domains. In history education, it can provide intellectually and emotionally meaningful access to environments that no longer exist. Although prior work has catalogued the opportunities and challenges of immersive virtual reality, few studies examine its specific pedagogical implications for developing disciplinary competencies in history education. In this qualitative descriptive study, we address this gap and investigate the experience of using Anne Frank House VR in fostering historical competencies in two upper secondary history classes taught by the same teacher. We analysed open-ended questionnaires from students (n = 49) and a semi-structured teacher interview using a codebook-guided thematic approach. Participants highlighted emotional impact, motivation and support for spatial understanding. However, the experience resulted in limited source analysis and weak critical engagement with reconstruction choices, and students rarely considered the perspectives or situations of other historical actors. The findings show that without explicit pedagogical scaffolding, immersive virtual reality alone is unlikely to cultivate historical competencies that depend on critical reasoning. We suggest that these limitations are related to the cosmopolitan narrative design of Anne Frank House VR, which foregrounds universal values and empathy. These findings contribute to ongoing debates about the place of immersive media in history education by highlighting the role of instructional design in technology-mediated teaching.