Agency and critical digital literacy: Rural migrant children’s negotiation of digital resources use in urban China

• In Event: Attuning to Participant Voices in Digital Literacies Research

Abstract

This ethnographic case study examines how rural migrant children in urban China negotiate digital learning resources within their sociotechnical contexts. Focusing on two cases, with data from fieldnotes, digital artifacts and interviews, this study challenges whether child agency always leads to positive learning outcomes. Findings reveal that while child participants leveraged digital tools to reshape limited offline support, critical digital literacy in evaluating digital resources and reshaping sociotechnical structures was crucial for meaningful learning.

Authors

• Ziwen Mei, University of British Columbia

• Guofang Li, The University of British Columbia