From virtual to reality: A systematic review of the impact of virtual reality on skill acquisition, retention, and transfer
Yuchun Zhong, Kai Guo, Lingran Xu, Luke K. Fryer · Educational Research Review · 2026
This review systematically analysed 64 studies from Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus to examine how Virtual Reality supports the development of 4Cs skills (i.e., creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication). This review defined skill development in three phases: acquisition, retention, and transfer. Through content analysis, it was found that 39 studies reported statistically positive impacts, 12 studies with descriptive results, six studies of mixed impacts, and seven indicated nonsignificant impacts of VR on 4Cs skills acquisition. Effect sizes were reported in 23 articles, and more than half of the studies on creativity, communication, and critical thinking found large effects. Evidence for VR’s impact on collaboration was limited, with only one study reporting a small to medium effect size. Moreover, skill retention after VR-based instruction was assessed in nine studies: five demonstrated a significant increase in retention, three detected no significant effect on communication skills, and one reported that VR and other multimedia methods yielded similar outcomes for critical thinking retention. Surprisingly, only two studies focused on skill transfer, with one study quantitatively indicating a positive impact of VR on promoting transfer of critical thinking skills to near-transfer context. This review also identified an array of factors, including individual, psychological, technological, and contextual factors that might influence the extent of skill acquisition, retention or transfer. The review concludes with recommendations on close alignment with theories and increased focus on long-term skills retention, cross-domain transferability after exposure to VR learning interventions.