Mixed Reality as Financially Enabled Learning Infrastructure: A Case Study of Academic Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulated Learning in Engineering Education

Mixed reality (MR) environments represent a significant capital investment in higher education infrastructure and may shape students’ self-regulated learning (SRL), academic self-efficacy, and professional development. Aligning with broader debates on education finance and human capital cultivation, this mixed-methods case study examines how a HoloLens 2-supported MR learning environment influenced undergraduate civil engineering students’ confidence, performance, and regulatory processes during a Revit-based design task. The case was bounded within a specific institutional context and involved eight third-year students and three civil engineering lecturers at the Chang’an–Dublin International College of Transportation. Grounded in social cognitive theory and Zimmerman’s SRL model, data collection integrated preintervention and postintervention self-efficacy ratings, lecturer-assessed design scores, SRL microanalytic interviews, multistakeholder focus groups, and lecturer feedback. The findings suggest that immersive holographic visualization and shared review supported the recalibration of students’ academic self-efficacy by connecting confidence judgments more closely to visible performance evidence and lecturer feedback. Qualitative evidence also indicated that students entered the MR environment with uneven levels of prior exposure to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, which appeared to shape their initial technological readiness, cognitive load, and strategic engagement. Participants and lecturers also emphasized the high financial and pedagogical demands of HoloLens 2 implementation. The chapter therefore argues that MR should not be treated as an isolated instructional tool, but as a financially enabled learning infrastructure whose educational value depends on intentional pedagogical scaffolding, digital-readiness support, and sustained curriculum integration.