Metaverse as an Educational Instrument in Higher Tourism and Hospitality Education: Teaching Staff Perceptions

Abstract

The teaching and learning process in higher education is undergoing significant change as academic interactions between educators, students, and their colleagues alter because of the challenges imposed by rigorous globalization and pandemic consequences. As a result, universities have significant challenges regarding traditional campus-based or online learning approaches. These factors have been widely acknowledged to have a negative impact on students' learning experiences, and as a result, there is a need to focus on technology-enhanced education environments. The idea of improvement, however, necessitates examining the necessary changes and factors that the academics and professionals in charge of education must take into account. This research offers a thorough evaluation of Metaverse as a teaching resource in its respective fields from the viewpoint of the teaching staff. Through a descriptive approach, this research evaluates the technical aspects, prospects, challenges, and educators' perceptions of the Metaverse and its didactic usefulness. The questionnaire was completed by 407 faculty lecturers and professors of varied genders, ages, academic levels, and teaching experience who work in various faculties and higher institutes in Egypt. Their responses were descriptively analyzed, and SPSS statistics were used to confirm the existence of significant disparities in their judgments for the various factors investigated. Gaps by area of study and years of teaching experience in the participants' assessments have been found and explored within the major findings. The study also presented an unambiguous overview of the many facets of using Metaverse technology in tourism and hotel higher education.