Enhancing rural students’ science process skills through structured inquiry engagement in a non-immersive virtual reality chemistry laboratory
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Thelugu Novah Mary Guruloo 1 2 , Kamisah Osman 1 2 * , Siok Yee Tan 1 3
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1 National University of Malaysia (UKM), MALAYSIA2 Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, MALAYSIA3 Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, MALAYSIA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Laboratory activities are essential for developing students’ science process skills, yet many rural schools face limitations in conducting regular chemistry experiments due to inadequate laboratory resources. This study examined the effectiveness of structured inquiry engagement delivered through an Android-based, smartphone-delivered non-immersive virtual reality chemistry laboratory (VR-CL) in enhancing rural secondary students’ science process skills. The intervention was grounded in structured inquiry learning principles and supported by multimedia and flexible learning design. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design with non-equivalent groups was conducted with 129 students (experimental n = 64; control n = 65) over eight weeks. Science process skills were measured using a validated instrument, and post-test differences were analysed using two-way ANCOVA with pre-test scores as the covariate. Results showed that students in the structured inquiry-based VR-CL environment demonstrated significantly greater improvement in science process skills than those receiving conventional instruction. The findings suggest that the observed learning gains are associated with the structured inquiry engagement embedded within the VR-CL learning environment, rather than the use of virtual technology alone. The study highlights the potential of integrating structured inquiry pedagogies with accessible non-immersive virtual environments to support chemistry learning in resource-limited rural contexts.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

PEDAGOGICAL RES, Volume 11, Issue 3, July 2026, Article No: em0269

https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/18771

Publication date: 01 Jul 2026

Online publication date: 18 Jun 2026

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Article Downloads: 3

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