Engineering or Computer Science Are Better for Males:1 Female Refugee and Migrant Students Lived Experiences of Learning Digital Ski

With the proliferation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), societies worldwide experience the advancement of digital inequalities. This timely paper provides empirical evidence on the lived experiences of 28 female refugee and migrant students learning digital skills in Germany. In this multi-case feminist study, I examined two research questions through survey, interview, document, and direct observation data: (1) What motivated the students in the cases to acquire digital skills? (2) What opportunities and challenges did the students in the cases have when learning digital skills? The results indicate that the students possessed various motivations to learn digital skills related to past and present experiences and future goals. They were motivated to understand cybersecurity and keep safe online because of being hacked in the past. The students wanted to advance their digital skills because of the proliferation of ICT in Germany. In the future, they intend to use digital skills to support employment. The students also experienced opportunities and challenges when learning digital skills. On the micro-level, they displayed reduced self-efficacy concerning their use of ICT. On the meso-level, they faced barriers in learning digital skills remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, online learning also provided more students with access to digital skills lessons. On the macro-level, the students experienced gender stereotypes about women and technology, including the notion that females, especially mothers, cannot learn advanced digital skills. The findings suggest that educators and policymakers should pay close attention to the backgrounds and characteristics of students learning digital skills, the environment in which they are learning, and the consequences of gender stereotypes on female students ICT programme participation and learning experience. I provide the background to the research, research design, results, research significance, and discussion, finishing with conclusions and recommendations.