1. Introduction

Inclusion and equality for all, particularly for disadvantaged social groups, is now widely acknowledged as one of the most important goals of the 21st century^[1][2]. According to a growing number of studies, skill acquisition can act as a gateway toward social inclusion ^[3]. However, a significant percentage of the population with disabilities often are not adequately trained in acquiring the skills needed for inclusion, accomplishment, and personal well-being ^[4]. Among the skills in which a significant deficit is observed are the metacognitive, self-motivation, and emotional intelligence skills ^[4][5][6][7].

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is a term that corresponds to the special type of health and the educational support that people with neurodevelopmental disorders, learning difficulties, as well as those which have mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders deserve ^[8][9]. It is common knowledge that people with SEND face a higher risk of social exclusion ^[10][11]. The limited participation in skill training programs further increases the risk of exclusion ^[12].

Μeta-skills refer to a set of higher-order skills that integrate meta-cognitive, social–emotional, and motivational attributes that enable individuals to be self-motivated, self-regulated, and adaptive in every context of human life ^[3][13][14]. Meta-skills enable individuals to be aware of and consciously regulate cognitive and psychophysiological operations as a means through which to achieve optimal performance. It is about reflection, as well as introspection skills ^[15]. Meta-skills allow individuals to be open to and accept change, focusing on goals rather than obstacles ^[4][16]. It enables individuals to recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and to voluntarily apply strategies that compensate for their weaknesses ^[3][4]. Emotional meta-skills encompass emotional awareness, as well as empathy. In addition, emotional regulation under stressful situations constitutes a fundamental component in the existing meta-skills frameworks ^[3]. Social meta-skills allow effective social interaction, collaboration, and conflict resolution ^[16]. In terms of motivation, individuals may rely on internal motivation rather than external reinforcements and rewards ^[17].

Digital games refer to a wide range of digital applications, which are characterized by some common elements (e.g., the gaming environment, the increased participation of the gamers, the element of interactivity, the immediate use of multimedia) ^[18]. Although playing digital games is usually used for entertainment, recent studies reveal that serious digital games can effectively train new skills for people with special educational needs, including intellectual disabilities (ID) and neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ^{[19][20][21][22][23]}.

VR technologies provide digital environments that induce virtual immersion through a computerized visual simulation, immersing users in an interactive three-dimensional world that is rich in sensory and emotional cues ^[24]. VR is becoming increasingly popular as a training tool in educational contexts, raising expectations for its effectiveness when it comes to people with disabilities^{[25][26][27][28][29][30]}. VR educational applications designed for people with specific learning difficulties have already shown promising outcomes indicating that VR can be an interesting avenue of intervention as it offers a ludic, safe, controlled, and motivating training environment ^[31][32]. According to Rodríguez-Cano et al., VR technology can create sustainable educational spaces for all, especially for people with special education needs ^[31][32]. Studies have also revealed that interactive and realistic activities within VR environments are safe, motivational, and well accepted by students with ASD and ADHD ^[33][34]. Over the past few years, the research has mainly focused on examining the effectiveness of VR and digital games as separate intervention strategies. It is only in more recent years that researchers have begun to investigate VRGs as a training strategy for clinical populations ^[35][36]. It is not by chance that an increasing number of experimental designs, clinical protocols, and experimental studies have already appeared in the international literature ^{[31][32][37][38]}. VRGs are becoming a promising tool for skills training. However, there is limited knowledge about its effectiveness in populations with disabilities and learning difficulties. At the same time, there is a constant need for digital training environments for people with SEND ^[39]. Thus, there is an urgent need to further investigate whether VRGs have the potential to be effectively used among people with SEND.

The current systematic review paper aims to contribute to the abovementioned gaps by reviewing experimental studies that evaluate the effectiveness of VRGs in populations with special training needs. Another important point is that of co-examining the mediating role of motivations, metacognition, and emotional intelligence as important assets for meta-skills development. The current review intends to provide answers about the effectiveness of VRGs in training people with SEND. In addition, we expect to find out whether VRGs can effectively train people with SEND with the meta-skills needed for inclusion in the 21^st century. These meta-skills may include self-regulation, adaptation, emotional and social awareness, and self-motivation skills.

This study begins with a theoretical section to support the study’s hypothesis according to what VRGs may be effective training strategies for people with SEND in developing meta-skills.

The second part of this paper attempts to summarize the results of the selected studies and present the key findings regarding the potential of VRGs in being applied as an effective training intervention for target groups with special training needs. In this part of the study, we emphasize various target groups and the circumstances under which the training took place. Finally, we attempt to critically discuss the results of this review, as well as their importance for future research.

2. Materials and Methods

In this systematic review paper, we intend to examine the effectiveness of VRGs in meta-skills training for people with SEND. The current review collects and synthesizes the previous research intending to examine the feasibility of VRGs in populations with special training needs, as well as the potential of VRGs in training higher-order skills. Finally, we expect to identify areas in which more research is needed ^[40].

2.1. Study Design

This systematic review was conducted by taking into consideration the guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses statement (PRISMA) ^[41]. The present study was carried out through a systematic research effort by a team of three authors from September 2022 to February 2023.

2.2. Eligibility Criteria

By applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were chosen for further investigation and content assessment. The predefined literature inclusion and exclusion criteria to achieve this review work are described in Table 1. Τhis study mainly concentrated on the experimental research that combined gaming in VR as a training intervention for people with SEND. On the other hand, studies that presented VRG designs without testing were excluded. In addition, studies that were applied only to healthy populations were excluded. We mainly focused on studies that evaluated or provided findings about the development of skills with metacognitive, socio-emotional, and motivational orientation. Gray literature and review articles were excluded. All the studies included in the review provide basic data on the research design, the participants, the type of VR device, the context of the intervention, the duration, the measurements, and the main outcomes.

Table 1. Selection of literature using inclusion and exclusion criteria.

2.3. Information Sources

To meet this objective, a computerized search was undertaken of the following digital research databases to identify studies that were eligible for this review: (1) Scopus, (2) Science Direct, (3) PubMed, and (4) Google Scholar. These engines include relevant digital libraries and/or publishers in the fields of Computer Science, Education Science, and Educational Technology. These digital libraries provide peer-reviewed articles from journals that are potentially relevant to the objectives of this study.

2.4. Search Strategy

The search was restricted to articles published between 2010 and 2023. The literature search was conducted in the databases via a combination of the keywords “virtual reality games”, terms referring to “special education needs and disabilities”, and terms referring to “metacognitive skills, emotional intelligence, and motivations”. The combination of the above keywords was applied to each database from 2010 up until February 2023. Table 2 provides an overview of the research strategy applied in database research.

le 2. The search terms used.

2.5. Selection Processes

For every paper found in each digital database, a series of criteria were applied to narrow down the findings to a set of relevant studies that could answer the research questions (i.e., articles in English, articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and titles or abstracts that explicitly focus on VRGs for people with SEND). The selection criteria were elaborated as a first filter for gathering relevant works. The quality of the articles was not examined in this initial stage. The selected articles were then further elaborated regarding their content, as part of the exclusion criteria. If any of the exclusion criteria were met, the article was excluded from the results. The remaining papers were further examined for their context, as part of the inclusion criteria. In the selection process, we also took into consideration several quality criteria. We selected articles with adequately developed experimental designs, well-conducted evaluations, well-described evaluations, as well as clearly stated goals, clearly described methods, tools, and technologies. We then clearly described the findings. In addition, we selected papers that provided sufficient data and information about VRG interventions to have a clear picture of what was achieved in every study.

2.6. Data Collection and Data Items

At this stage, each article was accessed in more detail to extract the key data, as part of the synthesis stage. The data extracted included information such as the authors’ information, technical aspects such as the VRG design, the equipment, and the game genre. In addition, information about the participants and their characteristics was gathered. The duration of sessions and main findings were also collected.

2.7. Quality (Risk of Bias Assessments)

A quality appraisal of each study was conducted independently by two authors, and disagreements were resolved with the third author. The Cochrane Collaboration’s ROB-2 (Risk of Bias version 2) tool was utilized to evaluate the risk of bias for the randomized studies ^[42]. RoB 2 is structured into a fixed set of domains of bias, focusing on different aspects of trial design, conduct, and reporting. Biases were classified into five domains; namely, (1) bias due to randomization, (2) bias due to deviations from the intended intervention, (3) bias due to missing outcome data, (4) bias due to measurement of outcome, and (5) bias due to selection of the reported results. A general risk of bias indicator was also created, with three levels of risk: low risk, some concerns, and high risk. The ROBINS-I (Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions) tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias for all of the other non-randomized studies ^[43]. Biases were classified into seven domains; namely, (1) bias due to confounding, (2) bias in selection of participants, (3) bias in the classification of interventions, (4) bias due to deviations from the intended interventions, (5) bias due to missing data, (6) bias in the measurement of outcomes, and (7) bias in selection of the reported results. The authors answered signaling questions and utilized the ROBINS-I evaluation table to evaluate the risk in each domain and the overall risk. The overall risk was presented as “low”, “moderate”, “serious”, “critical”, or “no information”. A robvis visualization tool format was utilized. The tool created “traffic light” plots for the domain-level judgments of each result, and weighted bar plots for the distribution of risk-of-bias judgments within each bias domain ^[44]. 

2.8. Search Results

The general screening processes and the flow of selecting representative research are presented in Figure 1. The initial search provided 1100 studies, of which 150 were common and removed. The titles and abstracts of the remaining studies were screened for inclusion in the review by the two authors. This process led to 250 studies for full-text screening.

1. Flowchart depicting the literature research and selection of studies for review ^[41].

A total of 115 initial studies were reviewed, taking into account the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the full-text screening, 89 studies did not meet the inclusion criteria and were removed. The 26 remaining studies were included in the final analysis. Figure 1 depicts the process and the results of the research strategy.

 3. Background Knowledge

3.1. Μotivations, Metacognition, and Emotional Intelligence: The Meta-Skills Triad

Motivations are widely acknowledged as indicators of achievement. They work as forces within agents, driving them toward goal-directed behaviors ^[45]. Motivations influence mental and emotional states, as well as determine the human readiness to deal with new challenges ^[46]. Motivations have the potential to foster decision making, persistence, determination, and the self-regulation of behavior ^[17][46]. Highly motivated individuals are more likely to accept change and appropriately modify thinking patterns and behaviors ^[47].

One common approach to differentiating between various kinds of motivation is to use the terms intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to engaging with something because it is naturally engaging or pleasurable, whereas extrinsic motivation refers to performing something aiming to satisfy external demands ^[17]. Intrinsic motivation is closely related to self-need satisfaction. It is about the inherent desire to search for novelty, to broaden and strengthen one’s capabilities, and to achieve personal growth ^[48]. External motivations represent impoverished forms of motivation, while intrinsic motivation results in high-quality learning and creativity ^[17]. Activities intrinsically motivated often induce a mental state of entire immersion in the present moment, which leads subjects to joyful experiences and guarantees optimal performance ^[49].

Metacognition refers to a set of regulation meta-abilities and meta-skills that are consciously implemented, and they aim at the balancing of the cognitive and psychophysiological mechanisms as a means of achieving adaptability, autonomy, and life satisfaction. Metacognition corresponds to consciousness-raising skills, including the subject’s ability to observe, regulate, and adapt their cognitive operations, discern between functional and dysfunctional states of mind, and to consciously choose those states that awaken the full range of their abilities and self-identity ^[15].

The literature provides evidence that metacognition and motivations, especially intrinsic motivations, may have a close relationship. Intrinsic motivation encourages individuals to initiate self-regulated and adaptive behaviors ^[50]. Theories of metacognition recognize that motivations implicitly or explicitly shape conscious perception, as well as direct human decisions and behaviors ^[15].

Emotional intelligence refers to the objective perception, evaluation, and expression of emotion in oneself and others, the effective regulation of emotion in the self and in others, and the deliberate employment of positive feelings with the aim to increase internal motivation, thus ensuring optimal performance ^[51][52][53]. According to this study’s view, emotional intelligence, metacognition, and motivations are three interrelated concepts that provide the ground for meta-skills development (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Metacognition, emotional intelligence, and motivations are inextricably linked and provide the ground for meta-skills development.

3.2. Motivation, Metacognitive, and Emotional Training as an Urgent Need in Special Education

For students with SEND, motivation has a primary role. However, studies confirm that low motivation is recognized as a common challenge to personal, academic, and professional achievement ^[54] Recent studies suggest that motivations are predictors of disability status ^[55]. While internal motivations are regarded as a key factor for inclusion and personal achievement, people with learning difficulties need additional intervention to develop as well as to maintain this kind of motivation, which, in turn, has a significant impact on the person’s autonomy level, competence, and relatedness ^[56].

Along with the challenge of initiating self-motivated behaviors, people with SEND often exhibit difficulties in metacognition ^[57]. For instance, people with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD find it more difficult to apply self-observation, to be reflective on their mental states, and recognize intentions ^[58][59][60]. Self-control difficulties are a common characteristic among people with SEND. They find it more difficult to consciously observe and regulate cognitive operations, inhibit impulses, make accurate judgments, set goals, and initiate self-motivated behaviors ^[61]. Regarding self-regulation, it is worth noting that people with SEND tend to show more emotional dysregulation compared to the typically developing population ^[62][63]. Significant challenges are also observed regarding adaptive skills ^[64][65]. Researchers have confirmed that individuals with SEND, when compared to neurotypical populations, perceive the socio-emotional world as more challenging in terms of implementing emotional recognition, emotional management, and emotional expression in a socially competent manner ^[66].

3.3. The Benefits of VR and Gaming Technologies for Training People with SEND

In terms of SEND training, VR has several features that make it ideal compared to other representational technologies. The virtual environments are safe enough and do not expose people with risky behaviors to unpredictable conditions. Stimuli are provided in a controllable way and tasks can be adapted according to the participant’s strengths and weaknesses ^[67]. Stimulation can be either enhanced to increase motivation, engagement, and attention, or reduced as a means to prevent sensory overload and attentional distraction ^[27][68]. In addition, VR can stimulate multiple sensory channels (vision, audition, and haptics) and provide users with engaging environments that maximize training outcomes ^[28][69]. A significant advantage of VR is that the use of personalized scenarios can target specific skills ^[67]. Personalization of interventions is a requirement in special education training ^[27].

Attention has a regulatory role and thus plays a crucial role in behavior modification. VR has the unique feature of direct attention. It can either distract participants’ attention from unhelpful stimuli (i.e., stressful or phobic stimuli) or direct attention in a targeted direction (i.e., desired goals or behaviors). In addition, VR familiarizes subjects with attentional operations. Most importantly, it helps users in developing attentional awareness, i.e., the realization that one can use attention as a tool for self-regulation ^[69]. In addition, VR supports memory processes, makes memorization easier, and helps subjects to better control meta-memory processes ^[28][70].

When subjects are immersed in VR, they have the unique opportunity to engage in roleplaying, to change their perspective, and to perceive situations from a different point of view. Thus, VR makes it easier for people with SEND to deal with cognitive bias and to better understand both their own and others’ mental and emotional states. The abovementioned processes are facilitated by the employment of virtual agents, who can take the form of a teacher, a mentor, an advisor, a friend, a co-worker, or a positive role model. This makes behavioral adjustment an easier task ^{[27][28][30][71][72]}.

VR relies substantially on visual interaction that minimizes cognitive load while increasing processing capacity. In addition, the use of visual cues is helpful for those struggling to deal with verbal cues such as people with dyslexia and other mental imagery deficits ^[28].

VR technologies provide assessments, feedback, and scaffolding, as well as promote collaboration. Feedback plays a significant role in regulating behaviors and flexibly applying metacognitive strategies. Subjects can interact inside the same virtual area and share virtual spaces, avatars, and chat rooms. Learners are encouraged to collaborate, reflect, develop observation skills, and raise a better awareness of the knowledge construction processes ^{[24][27][30][71][73]}.

Digital game-based training provides various characteristics that may have a positive impact on training people with SEND. Digital games offer attractive training environments that are brimming with entertaining features in combination with pleasant environments, esthetic quality (graphics, effects, music), and a structured framework based on pedagogical principles. Digital games stimulate interest and positive emotions such as enthusiasm, which are considered major motivations for active learning and behavior modification. In addition, gaming induces the flow state, which is considered the gateway for maximizing training outcomes ^[18][74].

Digital games are based on predetermined rules, the basis of which players will regulate and adapt their gaming actions. Gamers learn to follow instructions and develop gaming strategies based on specific objectives, tasks, and challenges. Games provide feedback that promotes reflection and adaptation, as well as fast and accurate decision making. To overcome obstacles with flexibility, digital games require gamers’ attention and observation ^{[18][74][75][76]}. Digital games require the ability to deal with conflicts, competitions, challenges, and rivalry.

A significant advantage that games provide concerns the adaptation of game difficulty according to players’ strengths and weaknesses, thus providing optimal challenges that, in turn, reduce stress and increase motivation ^[74]. Gaming promotes constant interaction either with various gaming elements or with other players ^[20]. Multiplayer games, for instance, promote social skills and teamwork ^[75]. Most importantly, games gradually train players to be autonomous, self-motivated, and self-regulated agents ^[74]. Games provide different levels of challenge and permit repetition. Adapting the game’s difficulty to participants’ level of competency along with the choice of repetition may create ideal circumstances for people with SEND in accomplishing gaming goals and avoiding anxiety ^[77].

3.4. The Potential of VR and Gaming Technologies in Meta-Skills Training

Studies show that digital games can help players satisfy basic psychological needs, thus increasing intrinsic motivations. By starting with external rewards and continuous reinforcement, and moving toward gaming techniques that encourage the internalization of motivations, players can experience positive emotions and internalize motivations ^{[74][75][76][77][78]}. Digital games provide players with choices and feedback, as well as create a sense of freedom encouraging the development of autonomy, the feeling that decisions during gaming are volitional, and the actions under the player’s control. In addition, games offer the optimal level of challenge as a means to enhance competence and improve self-efficacy. In addition, gaming, for instance in the context of multiplayer games, can cultivate players’ sense of belongingness and can increase meaningful connectedness with others ^[74]. Other studies outline that gaming fosters positive emotions and raises harmonious passion, which is linked to the flow state, the state of optimal performance, as well as mental and emotional well-being ^[79]. Finally, gaming encourages players to become self-regulated and to take responsibility during gameplay ^[75].

Empirical studies on this raise hopes about the potential of VR to revolutionize the ways of playing digital games. Reer et al. ^[80], based on self-determination theory, investigated the impact of virtual reality on the gaming experience via a sample of 133 participants. It was found that playing the VR version positively impacted autonomy, competence, and needs satisfaction,

Background Knowledge

3.1. Μotivations, Metacognition, and Emotional Intelligence: The Meta-Skills Triad

Motivations are widely acknowledged as indicators of achievement. They work as forces within agents, driving them toward goal-directed behaviors [45]. Motivations influence mental and emotional states, as well as determine the human readiness to deal with new challenges [46]. Motivations have the potential to foster decision making, persistence, determination, and the self-regulation of behavior ^[17][46]. Highly motivated individuals are more likely to accept change and appropriately modify thinking patterns and behaviors ^[47].

One common approach to differentiating between various kinds of motivation is to use the terms intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to engaging with something because it is naturally engaging or pleasurable, whereas extrinsic motivation refers to performing something aiming to satisfy external demands ^[17]. Intrinsic motivation is closely related to self-need satisfaction. It is about the inherent desire to search for novelty, to broaden and strengthen one’s capabilities, and to achieve personal growth [49]. External motivations represent impoverished forms of motivation, while intrinsic motivation results in high-quality learning and creativity ^[17]. Activities intrinsically motivated often induce a mental state of entire immersion in the present moment, which leads subjects to joyful experiences and guarantees optimal performance ^[49].

Metacognition refers to a set of regulation meta-abilities and meta-skills that are consciously implemented, and they aim at the balancing of the cognitive and psychophysiological mechanisms as a means of achieving adaptability, autonomy, and life satisfaction. Metacognition corresponds to consciousness-raising skills, including the subject’s ability to observe, regulate, and adapt their cognitive operations, discern between functional and dysfunctional states of mind, and to consciously choose those states that awaken the full range of their abilities and self-identity ^[15].

The literature provides evidence that metacognition and motivations, especially intrinsic motivations, may have a close relationship. Intrinsic motivation encourages individuals to initiate self-regulated and adaptive behaviors ^[50]. Theories of metacognition recognize that motivations implicitly or explicitly shape conscious perception, as well as direct human decisions and behaviors ^[15].

Emotional intelligence refers to the objective perception, evaluation, and expression of emotion in oneself and others, the effective regulation of emotion in the self and in others, and the deliberate employment of positive feelings with the aim to increase internal motivation, thus ensuring optimal performance ^[51][52][53]]. According to this study’s view, emotional intelligence, metacognition, and motivations are three interrelated concepts that provide the ground for meta-skills development (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Metacognition, emotional intelligence, and motivations are inextricably linked and provide the ground for meta-skills development.

3.2. Motivation, Metacognitive, and Emotional Training as an Urgent Need in Special Education

For students with SEND, motivation has a primary role. However, studies confirm that low motivation is recognized as a common challenge to personal, academic, and professional achievement [55]. Recent studies suggest that motivations are predictors of disability status [56]. While internal motivations are regarded as a key factor for inclusion and personal achievement, people with learning difficulties need additional intervention to develop as well as to maintain this kind of motivation, which, in turn, has a significant impact on the person’s autonomy level, competence, and relatedness ^[56].

Along with the challenge of initiating self-motivated behaviors, people with SEND often exhibit difficulties in metacognition ^[57]. For instance, people with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD find it more difficult to apply self-observation, to be reflective on their mental states, and recognize intentions ^[58][59][60]. Self-control difficulties are a common characteristic among people with SEND. They find it more difficult to consciously observe and regulate cognitive operations, inhibit impulses, make accurate judgments, set goals, and initiate self-motivated behaviors ^[61]. Regarding self-regulation, it is worth noting that people with SEND tend to show more emotional dysregulation compared to the typically developing population ^[62][63]. Significant challenges are also observed regarding adaptive skills ^[64][65]. Researchers have confirmed that individuals with SEND, when compared to neurotypical populations, perceive the socio-emotional world as more challenging in terms of implementing emotional recognition, emotional management, and emotional expression in a socially competent manner ^[66].

3.3. The Benefits of VR and Gaming Technologies for Training People with SEND

In terms of SEND training, VR has several features that make it ideal compared to other representational technologies. The virtual environments are safe enough and do not expose people with risky behaviors to unpredictable conditions. Stimuli are provided in a controllable way and tasks can be adapted according to the participant’s strengths and weaknesses ^[67]. Stimulation can be either enhanced to increase motivation, engagement, and attention, or reduced as a means to prevent sensory overload and attentional distraction ^[27][68]. In addition, VR can stimulate multiple sensory channels (vision, audition, and haptics) and provide users with engaging environments that maximize training outcomes ^[28][69]. A significant advantage of VR is that the use of personalized scenarios can target specific skills ^[67]. Personalization of interventions is a requirement in special education training ^[27].

Attention has a regulatory role and thus plays a crucial role in behavior modification. VR has the unique feature of direct attention. It can either distract participants’ attention from unhelpful stimuli (i.e., stressful or phobic stimuli) or direct attention in a targeted direction (i.e., desired goals or behaviors). In addition, VR familiarizes subjects with attentional operations. Most importantly, it helps users in developing attentional awareness, i.e., the realization that one can use attention as a tool for self-regulation^[69] In addition, VR supports memory processes, makes memorization easier, and helps subjects to better control meta-memory processes ^[28][70].

When subjects are immersed in VR, they have the unique opportunity to engage in roleplaying, to change their perspective, and to perceive situations from a different point of view. Thus, VR makes it easier for people with SEND to deal with cognitive bias and to better understand both their own and others’ mental and emotional states. The abovementioned processes are facilitated by the employment of virtual agents, who can take the form of a teacher, a mentor, an advisor, a friend, a co-worker, or a positive role model. This makes behavioral adjustment an easier task ^{[27][28][30][71][72]}.

VR relies substantially on visual interaction that minimizes cognitive load while increasing processing capacity. In addition, the use of visual cues is helpful for those struggling to deal with verbal cues such as people with dyslexia and other mental imagery deficits ^[28].

VR technologies provide assessments, feedback, and scaffolding, as well as promote collaboration. Feedback plays a significant role in regulating behaviors and flexibly applying metacognitive strategies. Subjects can interact inside the same virtual area and share virtual spaces, avatars, and chat rooms. Learners are encouraged to collaborate, reflect, develop observation skills, and raise a better awareness of the knowledge construction processes ^{[24][27][30][71][73]}.

Digital game-based training provides various characteristics that may have a positive impact on training people with SEND. Digital games offer attractive training environments that are brimming with entertaining features in combination with pleasant environments, esthetic quality (graphics, effects, music), and a structured framework based on pedagogical principles. Digital games stimulate interest and positive emotions such as enthusiasm, which are considered major motivations for active learning and behavior modification. In addition, gaming induces the flow state, which is considered the gateway for maximizing training outcomes ^[18][74].

Digital games are based on predetermined rules, the basis of which players will regulate and adapt their gaming actions. Gamers learn to follow instructions and develop gaming strategies based on specific objectives, tasks, and challenges. Games provide feedback that promotes reflection and adaptation, as well as fast and accurate decision making. To overcome obstacles with flexibility, digital games require gamers’ attention and observation ^{[18][74][75][76]}. Digital games require the ability to deal with conflicts, competitions, challenges, and rivalry.

A significant advantage that games provide concerns the adaptation of game difficulty according to players’ strengths and weaknesses, thus providing optimal challenges that, in turn, reduce stress and increase motivation ^[74]. Gaming promotes constant interaction either with various gaming elements or with other players ^[20]. Multiplayer games, for instance, promote social skills and teamwork ^[75]. Most importantly, games gradually train players to be autonomous, self-motivated, and self-regulated agents ^[74]. Games provide different levels of challenge and permit repetition. Adapting the game’s difficulty to participants’ level of competency along with the choice of repetition may create ideal circumstances for people with SEND in accomplishing gaming goals and avoiding anxiety ^[77].

3.4. The Potential of VR and Gaming Technologies in Meta-Skills Training

Studies show that digital games can help players satisfy basic psychological needs, thus increasing intrinsic motivations. By starting with external rewards and continuous reinforcement, and moving toward gaming techniques that encourage the internalization of motivations, players can experience positive emotions and internalize motivations ^{[74][75][76][77][78]}. Digital games provide players with choices and feedback, as well as create a sense of freedom encouraging the development of autonomy, the feeling that decisions during gaming are volitional, and the actions under the player’s control. In addition, games offer the optimal level of challenge as a means to enhance competence and improve self-efficacy. In addition, gaming, for instance in the context of multiplayer games, can cultivate players’ sense of belongingness and can increase meaningful connectedness with others ^[74]. Other studies outline that gaming fosters positive emotions and raises harmonious passion, which is linked to the flow state, the state of optimal performance, as well as mental and emotional well-being [80]. Finally, gaming encourages players to become self-regulated and to take responsibility during gameplay^[75].

Empirical studies on this raise hopes about the potential of VR to revolutionize the ways of playing digital games. Reer et al. ^[80], based on self-determination theory, investigated the impact of virtual reality on the gaming experience via a sample of 133 participants. It was found that playing the VR version positively impacted autonomy, competence, and needs satisfaction, which, in turn, elevated feelings of enjoyment. Peng et al. ^[81] demonstrated that playing games with a VR device elicited stronger motivations and positive feelings such as interest, contentment, and happiness than playing the same game using traditional display technology. Pallavicini et al. [83,84] examined the role of VRGs as a tool for emotional training. It was found that gaming in VR increased surprise and positive feelings such as happiness and flow experience. Other studies suggest that gaming in virtual reality facilitates the development of fundamental meta-cognitive skills, such as those of meta-memory skills ^[70].

In the current paper, through recognizing the urgent need for meta-skills training as a means of inclusion and considering the potential of virtual reality and gaming in assisting training interventions, we investigated the potential of VRGs as an intervention strategy in training people with SEND to enhance motives, socio-emotional competences, and metacognitive abilitieswhich, in turn, elevated feelings of enjoyment. Peng et al. ^[81]] demonstrated that playing games with a VR device elicited stronger motivations and positive feelings such as interest, contentment, and happiness than playing the same game using traditional display technology. Pallavicini et al. [83,84] examined the role of VRGs as a tool for emotional training. It was found that gaming in VR increased surprise and positive feelings such as happiness and flow experience. Other studies suggest that gaming in virtual reality facilitates the development of fundamental meta-cognitive skills, such as those of meta-memory skills ^[70].

In the current paper, through recognizing the urgent need for meta-skills training as a means of inclusion and considering the potential of virtual reality and gaming in assisting training interventions, we investigated the potential of VRGs as an intervention strategy in training people with SEND to enhance motives, socio-emotional competences, and metacognitive abilities

4. VR Gaming for Meta-skills Training in Special Education

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/educsci13070639