Abstracts
Abstract
Despite the growing number of studies on migrants’ use of technology, few have focused on the case of international students. Because they come from different countries where they have developed variable uses of technology according to country-specific cultural, political, economic, and other factors, international students may have to adapt the way they use technologies in response to new academic and relational customs and demands at their host university. Based on the idea that their technology use after migration is necessarily influenced by the uses they had developed before migration, this article’s objective is to draw a portrait of technology use by international students before and after migration, and in comparison to local students. A sample of 1,325 international students and 251 local students attending two Canadian universities responded to questionnaires, and the responses were analyzed statistically. The results indicate that, overall, international students increase their use of technologies after migration. Some changes observed are associated with student life in general and university studies in particular—they are thus valid for all students, whether or not they are international, while others appear to be attributable to migration and differentiate international students from their local peers. This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge in that it constitutes a first step toward a more nuanced understanding of the role that technology plays in the university integration of international students.
Keywords:
- International students,
- migration,
- technology use,
- access to technology,
- university
Résumé
Bien qu’un nombre croissant d’études s’intéresse aux usages technologiques des migrants, peu se sont focalisées sur le cas des étudiants internationaux. Parce qu’ils sont issus de différents pays, dans lesquels ils ont développés des usages technologiques variables selon des facteurs culturels, politiques, économiques, etc. propres à chaque pays d’origine, les étudiants internationaux sont susceptibles d’adapter leurs usages technologiques pour répondre aux nouvelles modalités académiques et relationnelles de leur université d’accueil. Sur l’idée que les usages technologiques des migrants après la migration sont nécessairement influencés par ceux qu’ils ont développés avant la migration, cet article a pour objectif de comparer les usages technologiques des étudiants internationaux avant et après leur migration et par rapport à ceux des étudiants locaux. Un échantillon de 1325 étudiants internationaux et de 251 étudiants locaux de deux universités canadiennes ont répondu à un questionnaire qui a fait l’objet d’analyses statistiques. Les résultats indiquent que, dans l’ensemble, les usages technologiques des étudiants augmentent après leur migration. Certains changements observés sont associés à la vie étudiante en général et aux études universitaires en particulier – ils sont alors valables pour l’ensemble des étudiants, qu’ils soient internationaux ou non – alors que d’autres semblent attribuables à la migration et distinguent les étudiants internationaux de leurs pairs locaux. Par sa contribution scientifique, cette étude représente une première et nécessaire étape visant à mieux comprendre le rôle des technologies dans l’intégration universitaire des étudiants internationaux.
Mots-clés :
- Étudiants internationaux,
- migration,
- usages technologiques,
- accès aux technologies,
- université
Appendices
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