The effect of virtual reality technology on reducing anxiety in the instrument commission exam

In this study, the change in anxiety levels of students experiencing performance anxiety before taking the instrumental jury examination was examined through the use of virtual reality (VR) technology. The examination setting, which included a jury composed of teachers from Kastamonu Orhan Şaik Gökyay Fine Arts High School, was recorded with a 360-degree camera, and these recordings were transferred to virtual reality headsets to provide students with a realistic exam experience. The study was conducted using an experimental research model with music students from 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, and the data collection process continued for eight weeks. In order to measure the participants' anxiety levels, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was administered before and after the virtual reality experience, and the pre-test and post-test data were analyzed and compared. To evaluate the statistical validity of the findings obtained from this data, parametric tests were used; a paired-samples t-test was applied to determine the difference between pre-test and post-test scores, and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for comparisons between different groups. The findings obtained from the statistical analyses showed that virtual reality environments significantly reduced students' state anxiety levels, while the change in trait anxiety levels was not found to be statistically significant. The findings of the study suggest that virtual reality technology can be considered a new tool to explore variables related to anxiety levels in music education and may serve as a source for future research.