Empowering Future Netizens: How to Enhance Pro-environmental Waste-sorting Behavior through Immersive Virtual Reality (An Iranian Women's Empowerment Approach)

Today, one of the most important topics discussed at the global level is environmental sustainability, which has reached a deep level in some countries due to higher education. In Iran, efforts have been made to promote the culture of environmental protection, especially through education at schools. Although the empowerment of women in the issue of waste management has always been of interest in Iran, but few efforts have been made in order to empower them. Efforts to empower women encourage them to become effective members of their local communities. They are the “eco-heroines” who empower women through recycling and repurposing solid wastes, particularly the household-based. with the wide availability of modern technology like virtual and augmented reality, it is becoming possible for anyone to build a virtual experience that is engaging and captivating. "This is intriguing for fields like education wherein existing methods have long been criticized for not adapting to the opportunities and challenges of the twenty-first century" (Scott 2015). With predictions that virtual reality (VR) and related technologies could reach 15 million learners by 2025 (Goldman Sachs2018), It is necessary to use these new technologies for environmental education purposes. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) in enhancing women environmental knowledge (ENK), attitudes (ENAs), and pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs), with a specific focus on waste management. The context is set against the backdrop of pressing global environmental challenges such as climate change and deforestation, which necessitate immediate attention and collective action, particularly from the women.

Keywords:

Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) , Sustainable Environmental Learning , Sustainable Environmental Innovation , New Learning Technology , Innovative Educational Tools