The Uneven Disciplinary Landscape of Academic Outputs from Extended Reality (XR) Labs at American Universities
摘要
Which student populations benefit most from the development and implementation of extended reality (XR) technology at American universities? This study seeks to answer this question by investigating whether the creation and implementation of academic opportunities at XR Labs disproportionately favor science, technology, engineering, math and health (STEMH) disciplines over humanities, social sciences, and arts (HSSA) disciplines. Through a systematic content analysis of XR Lab websites, this research categorizes the disciplinary affiliations of three academic outputs—publications, projects, and affiliated courses—to determine which student populations have the greatest access to XR pedagogical design and research. Findings indicate clear disciplinary disparities: across seven American universities, STEMH foci dominate XR Lab publications, while XR Lab projects marginally favor HSSA disciplines. Further, the academic home department of each XR Lab influences disciplinary trends, and access to XR courses is extremely limited for HSSA students. Therefore, XR technology is not yet equitably integrated across disciplines. This gap creates barriers to accessing XR technology for historically underserved student populations, who are vastly underrepresented in STEMH fields. This study concludes with suggestions for central university administration, faculty, and instructional designers about strategic initiatives that can create more equitable access to immersive learning for all students.