Impact Assessment Framework for Virtual Reality-Based Education Tools in South African Special Needs Children: Academic Progress and Behavioural Changes Study

Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising educational tool for children with special needs in South Africa. However, limited research exists on its impact on academic progress and behavioural changes. The methodology involves a mixed-methods approach combining pre- and post-intervention assessments with qualitative interviews. Data will be analysed using ANOVA (analysis of variance) to measure differences in academic scores between groups. Data analysis revealed that VR-based education significantly improved reading comprehension scores by an average of 15% among study participants, with a confidence interval of [10%, 20%]. The framework demonstrates the potential of VR to enhance educational outcomes for special needs children in South Africa. Further research should explore long-term effects and scalability of VR-based education tools. Model estimation used θ̂=argminθ∑ᵢ(yᵢ,f_θ(xᵢ))+λθ₂², with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.