Is Technology a Sleeping Giant in Social Studies? The Influence of Augmented Reality on Students’ Academic Achievement, Motivation, and Attitudes

Even though the potential impact of technology in Social Studies is depicted using the ‘sleeping giant’ metaphor, a limited number of studies have focused on such impact. This study aimed to explore the impact of Augmented Reality (AR) on students’ academic achievement, motivation, and attitudes towards the Social Studies course. For this purpose, it was conducted with an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. As a result, the experimental group students were to found to exhibit higher academic achievement and motivation levels compared to the control group students. While quantitative findings did not reveal a statistical significance between the groups in relation to students’ attitudes towards the course, qualitative findings showed that AR technology positively affected their attitude towards the course. This study provides an important insight into how AR technology could be used in the Social Studies course.