Article
What Factors Impact on Primary School Students’ Online Engagement for Learning and Entertainment at Home
Journal of Computers in Education
(2014)
Abstract
Informed by the difference of children’s Internet use in formal and informal contexts, this study aims to move away from studying children’s more predictable Internet use in school settings to learning how children use the Internet at home, and what factors impact their online behavior in such contexts. Students from grade 3 to 6 from a school in a medium-sized city in China participated in the study. The data reveal that children use the Internet for both entertainment and learning purposes and these two factors are correlated. However, factors influencing Internet use for the two purposes are to some extent different. The study suggests that there is a need to zoom in and analyze children’s Internet use in informal contexts, rather than assume that learning at home is just an extension of learning at school. Policy makers and educators may use information about how children use the Internet at home to improve pedagogy to bridge the gap between school and home.
Keywords
- Internet use,
- Primary students,
- Informal context,
- China,
- Online learning,
- Online entertainment
Disciplines
Publication Date
November, 2014
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-014-0007-9
Publisher Statement
© 2014 Springer International Publishing AG
Citation Information
Jingyan Lu and Qiang Hao. "What Factors Impact on Primary School Students’ Online Engagement for Learning and Entertainment at Home" Journal of Computers in Education Vol. 1 Iss. 2-3 (2014) p. 133 - 150 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/qiang-hao/5/