La movilidad virtual: ¿diversidad e inclusión o efecto Mateo 2.0?

Abstract

This paper provides elements to discuss whether virtual mobility contributes to increasing the diversity of students who participate in international mobility compared to physical mobility or if, on the contrary, it produces a kind of "Matthew effect" by offering more options to an already privileged segment of students. To identify the differences between those who participate in physical mobility and those who participate in virtual mobility, we designed quantitative, exploratory research supported by the pragmatic paradigm. We analyzed data from students in a Mexican state public university who participated in one of the two types of mobility The findings indicate that students who carried out virtual mobility share demographic and social characteristics with those in physical mobility, but seem to have a less favorable economic situation, belong in a lesser extent to the upper class, and have experienced more discrimination. Although our results allow us to affirm that virtual mobility has the potential to incorporate students with less socioeconomic advantages into the international experience, they also contribute to dismantling the myth that virtual mobility, by itself, increases student diversity in mobility and confirms the need to discuss internationalization strategies in light of a broader contextual framework.