Mapping Virtual Reality's Role in Cultivating Transversal Skills in Higher Education: A Bibliometric Analysis

In recent years, there has been a growing interest and application of Virtual Reality (VR) in transversal skills education, resulting in many studies on the topic. In this study, we use bibliometric analysis to map out the role of virtual reality as a pedagogical approach in fostering transversal skills in higher education contexts. This bibliometric analysis delves into the interdisciplinary landscape of VR application in higher education for fostering transversal skills. Surveying 382 publications, we narrowed our focus to 122 through meticulous criteria, revealing a diverse contributor base mainly from STEM fields, complemented by education scholars. Co-authorship analysis revealed the collaborative dynamics within the field, showcasing 69 clusters comprising 320 authors, highlighting two key authors bridges collaboration across research groups. The co-citation analysis showed that using VR for transversal skills is an interdisciplinary field with 31 items forming 10 clusters from documents from various disciplines. Our co-occurrence analysis exposed a highly interconnected research domain with 31 clusters and 10,655 links among top keywords, emphasizing the richness of topics within VR for transversal skills. Notably, amidst the general research interest in VR in education, this subfield demonstrates significant potential for further exploration and development. With this study, we aimed to map current research trends, and our results unveiled collaborative dynamics, intellectual foundations, and interdisciplinary interconnectedness in this field, offering crucial insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers. These findings lay a solid foundation for future exploration, development, and enhancement of immersive learning experiences in higher education.