A Comparative Extended UTAUT Analysis of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Adoption Across Institutional Divides

Resumen

This study explores educators' and learners' multifaceted perceptions across public and private educational institutions regarding the integration and adoption of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications. Recognizing the paradigm shift toward Education 4.0, the study operationalizes an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) framework to isolate the predictive behavioral determinants of immersive technology adoption. Using a snowball sampling methodology, a structured psychometric instrument was administered to teachers across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, as well as to secondary and tertiary students, yielding a robust sample of 1000 valid responses. Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted in IBM AMOS to evaluate the latent relationships among effort expectancy, performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, social influence, price value, habit, facilitating conditions, and the ultimate behavioral intention to adopt AR/VR platforms. The empirical findings establish that effort expectancy, performance expectancy, and hedonic motivation are universally significant drivers of adoption intent. Subsequent multi-group path analyses uncover profound demographic disparities; while students are heavily influenced by hedonic motivation and intrinsic enjoyment, educators base their adoption strategies strictly on performance metrics and are negatively impacted by rigid facilitating conditions. Furthermore, the public sector relies on habituation and performance expectancy to a greater extent than private institutions do. These critical insights provide actionable strategic intelligence for educational technologists, software developers, and academic policymakers seeking to minimize pedagogical friction and maximize the efficacy of extended reality deployments in modern classrooms.