A Bourdieusian exploration of international students' WeChatting experiences in China: a habitus of digital learning.
Saved in:
| Title: | A Bourdieusian exploration of international students' WeChatting experiences in China: a habitus of digital learning. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Dai, Kun (AUTHOR), Li, Xiaoyuan (AUTHOR), Mu, Guanglun Michael (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Studies in Higher Education. Mar2026, Vol. 51 Issue 3, p565-578. 14p. |
| Subjects: | WeChat (Web resource), Habitus (Sociology), Foreign students, Digital learning, Mobile learning, Digital technology, Higher education, Culture, Bourdieu, Pierre, 1930-2002 |
| Geographic Terms: | China |
| Abstract: | Digital media is increasingly incorporated into international students' learning journeys. However, few studies have explored international students' use of WeChat in their learning journeys in China. Using Bourdieu's thinking tools, this qualitative study explores 45 international students' experiences of using WeChat in their everyday learning practices. Findings show that participants' initial learning stage saw the emerging habitus of WeChatting, generating their dispositions of classificatory schemata and reflexive thinking. Their continued navigation of WeChat as a mobile learning tool reinforced their digital dispositions through ontological complicity with the doxic field of WeChat. Moreover, flexible and malleable dimensions of participants' digital dispositions were found in correspondence with the precarious, dynamic nature of WeChat. This study enriches existing literature about international students' digital transitions from a sociological perspective. It offers implications for institutional support of international students' learning journeys in the Chinese and global higher educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | Digital media is increasingly incorporated into international students' learning journeys. However, few studies have explored international students' use of WeChat in their learning journeys in China. Using Bourdieu's thinking tools, this qualitative study explores 45 international students' experiences of using WeChat in their everyday learning practices. Findings show that participants' initial learning stage saw the emerging habitus of WeChatting, generating their dispositions of classificatory schemata and reflexive thinking. Their continued navigation of WeChat as a mobile learning tool reinforced their digital dispositions through ontological complicity with the doxic field of WeChat. Moreover, flexible and malleable dimensions of participants' digital dispositions were found in correspondence with the precarious, dynamic nature of WeChat. This study enriches existing literature about international students' digital transitions from a sociological perspective. It offers implications for institutional support of international students' learning journeys in the Chinese and global higher educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 03075079 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/03075079.2025.2480144 |
