Peer-reviewed article
Bringing virtual reality-integrated social-emotional learning into schools: a dual-phase validation and feasibility study with adolescents in a collectivist society
Aimi Nur Athira Putri Baharuddin, Nik Ruzyanei Nik Jaafar, Normala Ibrahim, Luke Sy‐Cherng Woon, Rahima Dahlan et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study describes the early development of REAL™, a school-based social-emotional learning module that uses virtual reality and was adapted for lower-secondary students in Malaysia. Six Malaysian experts rated the module's components and activity stations over three rounds. A small one-session pilot was then run in a school with 15 students, four facilitators and one school administrator to test whether the module could be delivered in practice. Experts revised the module after weaker ratings, and one station was removed. The authors say these steps informed a later randomised trial that is reported separately.
Key points
- In Round 1, the 15 module structure and delivery components had an average content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) of 0.92.
- In Round 2, five of 12 activity stations did not meet the retention criterion (I-CVI ≥0.83), and the S-CVI/Ave was 0.65.
- After revision, 11 of 12 stations met the retention criterion in Round 3.
- The Drama of Life station was removed (I-CVI = 0.00) because of concerns about suitability, feasibility and potential physical safety in schools.
- The final S-CVI/Ave across the 11 retained stations was 0.85.
Limitations
The document reports expert ratings and a small feasibility pilot, not whether the module improves students' well-being. The pilot used a small, teacher-selected sample at one site and a researcher-developed feedback measure with no established psychometric properties.
Abstract
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is increasingly recognised as an important approach to adolescent mental health promotion in school settings. However, evidence regarding culturally adapted and technology-supported SEL interventions in non-Western educational contexts remains limited. This study reports the expert-validation and pilot-feasibility components of the REAL™ (Read Emotion and Learn to Regulate) module, a culturally adapted, virtual reality (VR)-integrated SEL intervention developed for Malaysian lower-secondary students. These developmental phases preceded a subsequently completed and separately reported randomised controlled trial (RCT). A sequential two-phase design was used. In Phase 1, six Malaysian experts from psychiatry, psychology, education, and social-emotional learning completed a three-round Modified Delphi process evaluating 15 module structure and delivery components and 12 activity stations on a 5-point Likert scale. Content validity was assessed using the item-level content validity index (I-CVI), scale-level average content validity index (S-CVI/Ave), and interquartile range (IQR). In Phase 2, a single-session school-based feasibility pilot was conducted with 15 lower-secondary students, four facilitators, and one school administrator to assess practical implementation of one chapter from the initial 12-station module. In Round 1, the S-CVI/Ave across 15 module structure and delivery components was 0.92. In Round 2, five of 12 activity stations did not meet the I-CVI retention criterion of ≥0.83 (S-CVI/Ave = 0.65). Following module revision and reassessment, 11 of 12 stations met the retention criterion in Round 3. Manage Your Emotions VR improved following revision and was retained, whereas The Drama of Life received uniformly unfavourable ratings (I-CVI = 0.00) and was removed because of concerns regarding suitability, feasibility, and potential physical safety in school settings. The final S-CVI/Ave across the 11 retained stations was 0.85. The findings provide developmental evidence that informed refinement and subsequent evaluation of the REAL™ module. Pilot findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the small, teacher-selected, single-site sample and use of a researcher-developed feedback measure without established psychometric properties.