An Exploration of Chinese Students’ Self-Directed Mobile Learning Outside School: Practices and Motivation

The proliferation of mobile devices over recent years has ensured that the majority of young people have encountered at least the possibility of using their devices for mobile learning experiences. Recent studies have helped us to understand the use of mobile devices both in and out of school by focusing on the features and effectiveness of mobile learning. Issues of students’ self-directed learning with mobile devices outside of school within different social and cultural contexts, however, remain under-investigated. The case study reported here focuses on how learning practices and notions of learning are being updated through the use of mobile devices in the out-of-school learning practices of Chinese secondary school students. Results suggest that these students engage in both curriculum-based and interest-based mobile learning practices and approach these with both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for learning. Challenges emerged in terms of autonomy, guidance and support which appear to be influential factors in the acceptance and successful employment of mobile learning.