Permanently online, temporarily abroad: Digital media use during secondary school exchange
Date Issued
2026
Author(s)
Gagrčin, Emilija
Abstract
This commentary responds to Dr. Alessandro Soriani's presentation of the Council of Europe's Digital Citizenship Education framework at the 13th Forum on Intercultural Learning and Exchange ("Encouraging Value-Based Behaviors: From Pupils' Mobility to Civic Engagement," Colle di Val d'Elsa, November 13–15, 2025). Written from the dual vantage point of an AFS alumna and a media and communications scholar, it argues that the exchange year as a bounded, intense, and singular experience is an unusually rich laboratory for democratic and intercultural learning. Yet, secondary school students remain largely absent from existing research. The commentary briefly reviews what the literature reveals about connecting to personal lifeworlds and host-country civic life, and proposes low-cost reflective methods and systematic, longitudinal research that AFS is uniquely positioned to advance.
Subjects
pupil exchange
;
digital citizenship
;
everyday media use
;
intercultural learning
;
civic learning
Publisher
Fondazione Intercultura ets
Institution
Type
journal article
Journal/Edited collection
Intercultura
Issue
121
Start page
55
End page
58
Secondary publication
Yes
Document version
Published Version
Language
English
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