ERIC Number: EJ1012150
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0309-877X
EISSN: N/A
International Students Using Online Information Resources to Learn: Complex Experience and Learning Needs
Hughes, Hilary
Journal of Further and Higher Education, v37 n1 p126-146 2013
This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that investigated 25 international students' use of online information resources for study purposes at two Australian universities. Using an expanded critical incident approach, the study viewed international students through an information literacy lens, as information-using learners. The findings are presented in two complementary parts: as a word picture that describes their whole experience of using online information resources to learn; and as a tabulated set of critical findings that summarises their associated information literacy learning needs. The word picture shows international students' resource use as a complex interplay of eight interrelated elements: students; information-learning environment; interactions (with online resources); strengths-challenges; learning-help; affective responses; reflective responses; and cultural-linguistic dimensions. In using online resources, the international students experience an array of strengths and challenges, and an apparent information literacy imbalance between their more developed information skills and less-developed critical information use. The critical findings about information literacy needs provide a framework for developing an inclusive informed learning approach that responds to international students' complex information using experiences and needs. While the study is situated in Australia, the findings are of potential interest to educators, information professionals and researchers worldwide who seek to support learning in culturally diverse higher education contexts. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 1 note.)
Descriptors: Information Sources, Educational Resources, Foreign Students, Use Studies, User Needs (Information), Foreign Countries, Critical Incidents Method, Information Literacy, Learning Experience, Cultural Differences, Semi Structured Interviews, Online Searching, Student Attitudes, Cognitive Style, Protocol Analysis, Aptitude Treatment Interaction, Qualitative Research, College Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A