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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
In my study, I explored how secondary educators describe their experiences using
social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills. Effective civic
engagement and citizenship often requires psychologically empowered young people to
work for social change in their communities. Social media is a powerful tool young
people can use to learn information and advocate for sociopolitical issues in their local
communities (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Farmer, 2020;
Gedik & Cosar, 2020; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Greenstein, 2012; Hodges, 2017;
Kasra, 2017; Rutledge et al., 2019). Social media skills and civil online dialogue are
especially important during a time of political polarization and news misinformation
(Greenhow & Chapman, 2020; Manca et al., 2021; Nettlefold & Williams, 2021). These
online, social media skills have also become essential during the COVID-19 pandemic
which revealed that social media platforms could be effective and engaging teaching
tools during distance learning (Greenhow & Chapman, 2020; Tajik & Vahedi, 2021).
Even though these social media skills are needed, secondary educators often neglect to
teach students the skills necessary to use social media in transformative ways for social
change (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Huguet et al., 2021; Nettlefold & Williams, 2021;
Rutledge et al., 2019). In my study, I analyzed and described the experiences of
secondary educators who have used social media with students for social and political
engagement to address a gap in the field of digital literacy and education.
In this chapter, I provide information about my study. I begin with background
information on the prevalence of social media in young people’s lives and the educational
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applications of social media in secondary schools. This is followed by the problem
statement, purpose, research questions (RQs), and conceptual framework that informed
my study. Additionally, I discuss the nature of the study which involved using a basic
qualitative approach, in addition to key definitions, assumptions, scope and delimitations,
limitations, and significance of the study for educational practice and policy to bring
about social change.
Background of the Study
Young people who know how to use social media effectively may effect positive
social change because they are empowered to advocate for social and political issues as
engaged citizens. Since 53% of U.S. adults use social media to engage in sociopolitical
activity (Anderson et al., 2018), using social media effectively in a media-saturated world
is now becoming an important part of being an engaged citizen (Chapman & Greenhow,
2020; Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Farmer, 2020; Gleason, 2018; Manca et al., 2021;
Nettlefold & Williams, 2021). However, many young people do not engage with the
political process through social media because they are afraid of sharing controversial
opinions (Gleason, 2016). Secondary educators could help students address that fear by
teaching responsible and effective social media skills. With those lessons, secondary
educators may influence young people’s psychological empowerment skills so that they
use social media in transformative ways for social change. Therefore, it was important to
study how secondary educators describe their experiences using social media to influence
students’ psychological empowerment skills.
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Secondary educators are beginning to use social media in translational,
transformational, and transcendent ways (Magana, 2017). Educators use social media in
translational ways for communication and online discussions in closed groups (see
Abualrob & Nazzal, 2020; Colwell et al., 2018; Hoffmann & Ramirez, 2018; Kornbluh,
2019; Loomis, 2018; Rosenberg et al., 2018; Wu, 2020). Translational social media use
also involves students learning to identify credible information online (Arceneaux &
Dinu, 2018; Horn & Veermans, 2019; Johnson & Ewbank, 2018; Kuruliszwili, 2018;
Little, 2018; Stanford History Education Group, 2016). Educators use technology at the
transformational level through the production of digital artifacts. Student blogs are a
common transformational tool where students showcase their digital artifacts, discuss
course content, and receive feedback online (Akdag & Ozkan, 2017; Casey & Evans,
2017; Kornbluh, 2019; Magana, 2017; Scheihing et al., 2018). Transcendent technology
uses include educators employing inquiry design, product creation, and service-learning
(Gruno et al., 2018; Kornbluh, 2019; Miller, 2018; Wargo & Clayton, 2018). Even
though educators see success using social media, they face challenges like dealing with
inappropriate content, student safety, polarized political discourse, time management, and
educational efficacy (Burtch, 2018; Li et al., 2018; Thunman & Persson, 2018).
Secondary educators are also beginning to incorporate teaching practices for
improving student intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral psychological
empowerment. Intrapersonal psychological empowerment opportunities for students
include self-advocacy, student voice, and leadership (Chapman-Hilliard & Beasley, 2018;
Eisman et al., 2016; Gutuskey et al., 2016; Mathé, 2018; Wargo & Clayton, 2018).
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Interactional psychological empowerment involves strategies that allow students to build
supportive adult relationships and understand multiple perspectives of community issues
(Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017; Kornbluh, 2019; Weybright et al., 2017; Zimmerman et
al., 2018). Behavioral psychological empowerment involves strategies that allow students
to understand community issues and proactively work toward social change (Eisman et
al., 2016; Zimmerman, 1995; Zimmerman & Zahniser, 1991). Overall, secondary
educators can influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
Understanding the literature involving social media integration and best practices
for improving student psychological empowerment helped me address literature gaps to
explore in my study. Researchers have studied teenagers and their use of social media for
information gathering, discussions, and mobilizing activities (Chapman & Greenhow,
2020; Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason, 2018; Hodges, 2017; Kasra, 2017). However,
there is a gap in the literature involving secondary educator experiences using social
media and its connection to psychological empowerment. More research was needed
about secondary educator experiences with intentional skill development in terms of
using social media to locate credible information, build relationships, engage in
meaningful political discourse, and bring about positive social change. Through my
study, I contributed to filling this gap in the literature by providing secondary educator
descriptions in these areas.
Problem Statement
The problem of this study was the lack of information about how secondary
educators describe their experiences using social media to influence students’
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psychological empowerment skills. A literature gap exists regarding secondary educator
experiences using social media and its connection to psychological empowerment. Filling
this gap was especially important since using social media effectively is a needed skill in
an age when civic engagement increasingly relies on social media. Even though a societal
need exists for educators to include social media skill development in the curriculum,
secondary educators are hesitant to use social media with students because of privacy
concerns, cyberbullying, time management, and polarized political discourse (Burtch,
2018; Casey & Evans, 2017; Li et al., 2018; Thunman & Persson, 2018). Therefore, more
research was needed to provide educators with pedagogical guidance to meet these
challenges and provide ways to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how secondary educators
describe their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological
empowerment skills. Stronger psychological empowerment skills could influence
students’ social and political engagement. By analyzing described experiences of
secondary educators who have used social media with students for social and political
engagement, my study addressed a gap in the field of digital literacy and education. The
study could also lead to social change by providing insights for educators to reform their
pedagogy and include social media strategies to provide their students with the skills
needed to use social media to advocate for local community issues. The study could also
inform educational policy by showing students’ need for social media skill development.
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Research Questions
The four RQs of this qualitative study were used to explore how secondary
educators describe their experiences using social media to influence students’
psychological empowerment skills.
RQ1: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to help
students understand current and local community issues?
RQ2: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to teach
students to discover diverse opinions about current and local social and political issues?
RQ3: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to teach
decision-making skills about current issues affecting students’ local communities?
RQ4: How do secondary educators describe their instruction to students in terms
of how to publish social media content to be proactive regarding current and local social
and political issues?
Conceptual Framework
Principles of connectivism and psychological empowerment supported the RQs
and basic qualitative approach for my study. Siemens (2005) said connectivist theory
involves learning occurring within complex networks that provide diverse opinions.
Connectivism further stresses the importance of social media tools in terms of promoting
connections between people and communicating thinking (Del Moral et al., 2013). My
study was framed by the concept that students construct knowledge by being connected
with others. For the purposes of this study, connectivism was used to explore how
secondary educators describe their experiences using social media to connect students
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with others regarding social and political issues. The following two constructs of
connectivism related to my study’s RQs: diversity of opinions and decision-making as
learning (see Siemens, 2005). These two components of connectivism also guided data
collection and analysis in my study.
The second component of the conceptual framework for this study was
Zimmerman’s (1995) psychological empowerment model. Zimmerman said
psychological empowerment occurs when people feel in control of situations through
understanding sociopolitical issues and proactively working for social change.
Zimmerman’s research incorporated ideas from the Sociopolitical Control Scale, a survey
to assess how people feel about their power in social and political systems (Peterson et
al., 2011). My study was framed by the concept that students can influence their
psychological empowerment when they proactively seek to understand and solve
community issues. The psychological empowerment model guided data collection and
analysis for this study related to two psychological empowerment constructs: being
proactive and understanding community issues. These two constructs were selected
because secondary students’ psychological empowerment can be influenced in these two
areas through inquiry-based learning where students explore community problems and
work to develop solutions (see Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017). These two components
supported my study’s RQs, interview questions, and data analysis plan.
The conceptual framework of connectivism and psychological empowerment
were selected to guide my study because the intersection of the two has implications for
secondary educators who use social media to help students build digital literacy skills to
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understand and communicate about their world (see Chapman & Greenhow, 2020;
Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Kornbluh, 2019). Chapter 2
includes a more thorough explanation of each of the models as well as connections
between connectivism and psychological empowerment as they relate to my study.
Nature of the Study
I selected a basic qualitative approach to explore how secondary educators
describe their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological
empowerment skills. This approach was appropriate because I was seeking a practical
understanding of teacher experiences to inform the field of education and provide
pedagogical direction (see Patton, 2015). Twelve participants were selected from my
professional learning network who had experience using social media with secondary
students. Through interviews with educators, who indicated that they met inclusion
criteria, data were collected to explore how secondary educators describe their
experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
I conducted data analysis of interviews through iterative open coding (see Patton, 2015;
Ravitch & Carl, 2021). I used Dedoose, a qualitative data management program, to assist
me in the coding process. Chapter 3 details more specifics of my study’s methodology.
Definitions
This list of definitions guided my study:
Connectivism: A theory that learning occurs within complex networks, and those
networks provide a way to foster diverse opinions and connect ideas across time and
space (Siemens, 2005).
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Psychological empowerment: A conceptual model that frames how people
perceive personal control, proactive approaches to life, and understanding of one’s
sociopolitical environment (Zimmerman, 1995).
Secondary educator: For the purposes of my study, I defined secondary educator
as a professional who works with secondary students directly in the classroom or
indirectly as a media specialist or instructional coach.
Secondary student: For the purposes of my study, secondary students were
defined as either middle or high school students. In the United States, that is typically
sixth through 12th grade.
Social media: Any internet-based Web 2.0 application used to connect people
through user-generated content (Obar & Wildman, 2015).
Sociopolitical engagement: People’s perceptions regarding their control and
capabilities to change their communities (Zimmerman & Zahniser, 1991).
Transcendent technology use: Technology use that makes global connections in
such a way that students achieve unexpected learning outcomes. Transcendent use
involves innovation through inquiry design, product creation, and service-learning
(Magana, 2017).
Transformational technology use: Technology use that requires technology to
share online creations with a global audience. Transformational use includes production
of online products that reach a global audience as well as creating online products that
contribute to the learning of others (Magana, 2017).
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Translational technology use: Technology use that could have been completed in
an analog way such as a digital worksheet. Translational technology use involves online
communication with a closed social media group and media consumption where students
learn to locate credible information online (Magana, 2017).
Assumptions
I assumed that the conceptual framework for my study was appropriate to address
this study’s methods and findings. Additionally, I assumed that participants truthfully
answered questions during participant selection process. I assumed that all interview
participants provided accurate and honest descriptions of their experiences with
secondary students and using social media as part of instruction. Finally, I assumed that
all participants were engaged during interviews and transcript reviews. Since my basic
qualitative study involved interviews and relied on participants accurately describing
their experiences, these assumptions were necessary for the context of my study.
Scope and Delimitations
This basic qualitative study involved exploring how secondary educators describe
their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment
skills. This focus was chosen because social media and youth political engagement are
growing phenomena, yet there is a gap in the literature in terms of how secondary
educators are intentionally teaching skills so that students are prepared to be engaged and
effective citizens in the social media arena. For data collection, I limited my participants
to 12 secondary educators whom I could reach from my professional learning network or
a university’s participant pool and had experience with using social media with students
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for sociopolitical purposes in the last 5 years. Participant selection helped define the
scope of the study, as I did not explore primary or elementary educators, nor did I explore
higher education faculty.
One delimitation of the study was that participants were limited to educators who
work with adolescent students since that is the age when students commonly begin using
social media and are ready for skill development in that area (see Gedik & Cosar, 2020;
Horn & Veermans, 2019; Rutledge et al., 2019). Participants were limited to my online
professional learning network and the online participant pool of a university’s center for
research quality. This delimitation of online recruitment was justified because a study on
social media would have potential participants active online. Another delimitation of my
study was participants’ understanding of the definition of the term social media. Social
media platforms are constantly changing, and educators have different understandings of
what platforms might be considered social media. To address this delimitation, I
acquainted participants with the Obar and Wildman (2015) definition of social media in
the recruitment Google form and follow-up emails to set up interviews.
In qualitative studies, the transferability of findings becomes more trustworthy
with purposeful sampling and inductive coding for analysis. Transferability also
improves when researchers include thick descriptions to support themes and describe
participant context (Anney, 2014; Houghton et al., 2013; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). In my
study, I employed purposeful sampling to select knowledgeable participants, inductive
coding to discover themes in the data, and thick descriptions so that readers could decide
on the transferability of my findings.
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Limitations
Although findings from a basic qualitative study are limited and not generalizable,
trustworthiness occurs when a researcher uses a rigorous methodology (Lincoln & Guba,
1985; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). For this study, I addressed limitations through
interview guides, verbatim transcripts, a codebook, and engaging in constant comparison
by analyzing data after each interview. Furthermore, I used thick descriptions and a
transparent presentation of findings to improve credibility and address the study’s
limitations (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
My study had a few limitations. One limitation of the study was the participant
boundary, which was limited to people in my professional learning network and people
who found my study through a university’s online participant pool. Another limitation
involved the time I spent with each participant. Because educators worldwide have faced
an increased workload given the implementation of distance learning during COVID-19,
I limited my participant time commitment for data collection to 1 hour for the interview
and another 15 minutes for participants to review the transcript. Additionally, no
observations of classroom practices or follow-up interviews were part of this study.
Another limitation of my study was the potential for fraud. Although I assumed
honesty from my participants, I was aware that in online research, participants can more
easily misrepresent their identity and volunteer for studies even if they do not meet
inclusion criteria (see Chandler & Paolacci, 2017; Hydock, 2017). In fact, Hydock (2017)
found that a “small but nontrivial portion of participants” in online survey studies
“misrepresented their identity for the chance of financial gain” (p. 1566). Patton (2015)
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also warns that compensation for participation can impact data quality. Since my
methodology did not include a step where I verified through an employer that participants
were in fact a secondary educator who used social media with students, participants could
potentially fake or exaggerate their experiences. In a struggling pandemic economy, the
$20 Amazon gift card, which I gave as a thank you gift, could be enough of an
enticement for participants to exaggerate their experiences, claim to meet inclusion
criteria, and complete an interview. Overall, the transferability of findings from
qualitative studies are limited, and I addressed those limitations by discussing lessons
learned instead of conclusions in my findings. I also provide thick descriptions of
participant context and interview data to help readers decide on transferability.
Significance
Social media is used as a major platform for political discourse, dissemination of
information, and social change efforts, and young people could benefit from intentional
skill-building in this area. Social media’s impact was especially felt during 2020 and
2021 in the United States. For example, the Black Lives Matter protests after the killing
of George Floyd were largely organized through social media (Heaney, 2020; Hockin-
Boyers & Clifford-Astbury, 2021; Pillay, 2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic, social
media was used to spread misinformation about the disease, prevention, and vaccines
(Baines et al., 2021; Brill & Crovitz, 2020). Additionally, on January 6, 2021, protestors
at the U.S. Capitol relied on the Parler social media platform to coordinate their activities
(Munn, 2021). Much of the world also saw a rise in hate and extremism because of social
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media exploitation (Pantucci & Ong, 2021). Since social media greatly impacts society,
educators would benefit from learning pedagogical practices for using social media.
Educators have not ignored social media in their instruction. Secondary educators
have used social media with students in empowering ways. However, they often neglect
intentional skill development regarding social media for social change (Manca et al.,
2021; Nettlefold & Williams, 2021; Rutledge et al., 2019). Educators should no longer
neglect this area of skill development since young people would benefit from learning to
use social media effectively and appropriately for social and political empowerment.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how secondary educators
describe their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological
empowerment skills. The findings in this study could impact practice in the fields of
education and digital literacy by providing educators with strategies for using social
media to help students use social media to improve communication, information literacy,
collaboration, and citizenship skills. This study’s findings could also impact educational
policy makers who might be considering educational standards for using social media
effectively and appropriately. These potential pedagogical and policy impacts could
ultimately lead to social change if social media platforms are used more effectively.
Summary
In this chapter, I have shown that social media has become a common
phenomenon in the lives of educators and students. I have also shown that the educational
implications of this growing phenomenon have not been fully explored. Secondary
educators have begun using social media in translational, transformational, and
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transcendent ways with their students. For example, educators have implemented
translational technology uses by conducting discussions in closed social media groups.
They have used transformational strategies by moving artifact sharing to digital platforms
like blogs and wikis. A few educators have also implemented transcendent practices to
allow students to learn and advocate for community issues. Even though these examples
of educator experiences exist in the literature, studies focus on one educator or program.
No studies exist that explore common themes that emerge when a broad collection of
secondary educators describe their experiences using social media to influence students’
psychological empowerment skills.
In this chapter, I have also summarized the purpose of my study, which was to
explore how secondary educators describe their experiences using social media to
influence students’ psychological empowerment skills. My study’s RQs were designed to
discover a broad range of educator descriptions regarding social media teaching
strategies. Additionally, the RQs were aligned with Siemens’ connectivist theory and
Zimmerman’s psychological empowerment model. Chapter 2 includes more details on
this study’s conceptual framework, social media uses in the classroom, and best practices
for influencing students’ psychological empowerment.
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
The world is increasingly connected to social media for social and political
purposes. However, the research problem of my study was the lack of information about
how secondary educators describe their experiences using social media to influence
students’ psychological empowerment skills. Siemens (2005) said learning occurs within
shifting and complex networks. Social media networks are one platform that connects
ideas across time and space (Del Moral et al., 2013; Siemens, 2005). In addition to
connectivism, Zimmerman’s psychological empowerment model informed the conceptual
framework of my study. Psychological empowerment involves how people perceive
personal control, proactive approaches to life, and critical understandings of their
sociopolitical environment (Zimmerman, 1995). Therefore, the purpose of my qualitative
study was to explore how secondary educators describe their experiences using social
media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
In the first part of my literature review, I address the conceptual framework of
connectivism and psychological empowerment by explaining their origins, guiding
principles, and components most relevant to my study’s RQs. In my literature review, I
also discuss recent research that explores how educators use social media to build student
skills in translational, transformational, and transcendent ways. In the final section of my
literature review, I discuss best practices in terms of teaching students the skills needed
for psychological empowerment. Overall, my literature review and study contribute to the
field of digital literacy as well as provide insights for secondary educators who wish to
include social media platforms as part of learning, instruction, and innovation.
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Literature Search Strategy
My literature search involved topics related to my conceptual framework as well
as social media uses in secondary education for intentional student skill-building. My
literature review includes published print books as well as several digital and peer-
reviewed articles. My literature search was conducted through the online Walden
University Library and began with the Thoreau database in January 2019. I began my
literature review search with transcendent uses of social media because I anticipated that
those uses would appear less frequently in the literature. These transcendent use studies
aligned with my study about how secondary educators describe their experiences using
social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
To expand my search, in February 2019 I followed the recommendations of a
Walden librarian and used Education Source, ERIC, SOCindex, and Academic Search
Complete databases. My last search was completed in June 2021. Online search terms
and keywords were: app, augmentation, best practices, citizenship, civic engagement,
critical consciousness, community issues, digital footprint, educators, Facebook, high
school, inquiry learning, Instagram, learning, modification, policy control, product,
project-based learning, psychological empowerment, relationships, research design,
secondary education, service-learning, social media, sociopolitical control, student voice,
substitution, teachers, teaching strategies, transcendent, Twitter, virtual field trips, writing
skills, and writing strategies. Overall, my search strategies allowed me to reach saturation
regarding topics in my literature review.
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Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework for this study was Siemens’ connectivism theory and
Zimmerman’s psychological empowerment model. Connectivism theory states that
learning occurs within complex networks, and those networks provide a way to foster
diverse opinions and connect ideas across time and space (Siemens, 2005). The
psychological empowerment model is used to frame how people perceive personal
control, proactive approaches to life, and critical understandings of sociopolitical issues
(Zimmerman, 1995). Both connectivism and psychological empowerment guided data
collection and were lenses through which data were analyzed.
In this study, connectivism was used to explore how secondary educators describe
their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment
skills. Furthermore, two constructs of connectivism, diversity of opinions and decision-
making as learning, further focused my study. I explored the intersections of those two
connectivist constructs with two psychological empowerment principles. The two
psychological empowerment principles that I used to frame my study were understanding
community issues and being proactive in helping to solve community issues. Overall, this
study was framed by the concept that people construct knowledge by being connected
with others, and this knowledge can empower people to understand and act on current
social and political issues in their communities.
Connectivism and Siemens
Connectivism is a relatively new educational theory that has arisen in the digital
age by combining ideas from theories involving chaos, networking, and self-organizing.
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First, the science of chaos acknowledges the connections of everything—this is also
known as the butterfly effect (Siemens, 2005). Secondly, networking theory involves how
personal knowledge flows into a network, and that network comes back to the individual
with even more information, making learning partly a social process (Downes, 2010;
Siemens, 2005; Wang et al., 2014). This social learning process is accomplished through
the posting of information on personal online platforms (Downes, 2010; Wang et al.,
2014). Social learning is further enhanced through online collaboration, which is easier
when people are connected by a variety of networks (Del Moral et al., 2013). Last, the
self-organizing ideas in connectivism relate to how people evaluate and synthesize
information found online (Siemens, 2005).
Origins of Connectivism
Connectivism has its origins in Piaget’s work about constructivism. Constructivist
and connectivist theorists share the belief that knowledge should be constructed and that
learners actively work at making meaning, even when learning is messy and unstructured
(Downes, 2010; Siemens, 2005). With both constructivism and connectivism, the learner
is at the center of the learning process. However, constructivism has limitations in
today’s digital age since people now need to be able to evaluate what they are learning in
online formats (Del Moral et al., 2013; Siemens, 2005). Connectivism also makes
personalized learning and differentiation easier because educators can use technology to
address different student cognitive styles (Del Moral et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2014). For
example, connectivist educators personalize instruction by embracing online games and
simulations as part of the learning environment (Downes, 2010). Ultimately,
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connectivists believe that connections with people are more important than the products
created in a constructivist framework (Del Moral et al., 2013; Siemens, 2005).
Theoretical Propositions of Connectivism
In addition to believing that networking is a key component of learning,
connectivist theorists further believe that the advent of computer technology is impacting
the way people’s brains function, especially for digital natives (Downes, 2010; Siemens,
2005). With the advent of computers, information can now be stored outside of people’s
brains, changing the way people think. Therefore, knowing where to find information is
more important than memorization (Siemens, 2005). With changes in thinking processes,
students also need to learn how to use social media to communicate thinking and connect
with others (Del Moral et al., 2013; Siemens, 2005). Education systems embracing social
media are also practical since 84% of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 29
use social media (Auxier & Anderson, 2021).
Connectivist Constructs in My Study
Two connectivist principles align with my study. The first principle that aligns is
that knowledge requires people to understand a wide range of diverse opinions (Siemens,
2005). When people belong to a variety of social media networks, they encounter a
variety of diverse perspectives (Del Moral et al., 2013; Siemens, 2005). Understanding
multiple perspectives is especially important in the social media world of today where
Twitter was “the rhetorical platform for U.S. President Donald Trump” (Gleason, 2018,
p. 167). Because understanding multiple social media perspectives is gaining importance
in society, educators can help students gain skills in effectively using social media to
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understand a variety of opinions and be engaged citizens (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020;
Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Farmer, 2020; Kornbluh, 2019; Skoric et al., 2016).
The second connectivist principle that was used as part of the conceptual
framework is that decision-making is a learning process and is dependent on a person’s
context in terms of time, geography, and other life factors. Decision-making is a form of
digital literacy where people read information online and learn to think critically about
issues, ultimately making informed decisions (Siemens, 2005). Ideas gathered for this
decision-making often come from social networks (Siemens, 2005; Wang et al., 2014).
Rationale for Using Connectivism for My Study
Connectivism was an appropriate theory to use as part of the conceptual
framework for my study because the theory involves the importance of technology in
educational contexts. In my study, I explored how secondary educators describe their
experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
Connectivism emphasizes that learning occurs when people are connected to others
through technology (Siemens, 2005). Social media platforms are a way that educators can
provide those technological connections for a powerful learning environment (Canbek &
Hargis, 2015; Del Moral et al., 2013; Greenhow & Chapman, 2020; Manca et al., 2021).
Connectivism guided the development of RQs in this study. The diverse opinions and
decision-making as learning principles of connectivism also align with the four RQs for
my study (see Table 1). Overall, connectivism provided operational language to inform
the phenomenon explored in this study as well as language and ideas for research.
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Table 1
How Research Questions Relate to the Conceptual Framework
RQ
Connectivist Principle
(Siemens, 2005)
Psychological
Empowerment Principle
(Zimmerman, 1995)
RQ1: How do secondary
educators describe their use
of social media to help
students understand current
and local community issues?
Knowledge requires people
understanding a range of
diverse opinions.
Interactional
psychological
empowerment increases
when people understand
community issues.
RQ2: How do secondary
educators describe their use
of social media to teach
students to discover diverse
opinions about current and
local social and political
issues?
Knowledge requires people
understanding a range of
diverse opinions.
Interactional
psychological
empowerment increases
when people understand
community issues.
RQ3: How do secondary
educators describe their use
of social media to teach
decision-making skills about
current issues affecting
students’ local communities?
Decision-making is learning
but depends on a person’s
context in terms of time and
location.
Interactional
psychological
empowerment increases
when people understand
community issues.
RQ4: How do secondary
educators describe their
instruction to students in
terms of how to publish
social media content to be
proactive regarding current
and local social and political
issues?
Knowledge requires people
understanding a range of
diverse opinions.
Behavioral
psychological
empowerment increases
when people
proactively work to
solve community
issues.
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Psychological Empowerment and Zimmerman
In addition to connectivism being used as part of the conceptual framework for
this study, I also used Zimmerman’s model of psychological empowerment to frame RQs
and provide a lens for data analysis. Psychological empowerment occurs when people
feel in control of situations through understanding social and political issues in their
communities and proactively work for social change. Furthermore, the psychological
empowerment model contains intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral constructs.
Intrapersonal constructs include self-perceptions, motivation, and emotions. Interactional
constructs relate to how people develop skills to gain a critical understanding of
community issues to aid in decision-making and problem-solving. The behavioral
psychological empowerment construct involves how people change their environment
through proactive community involvement (Zimmerman, 1995). The two psychological
empowerment constructs that were used as part of this study were the interactional
construct of understanding community issues and behavioral construct of being proactive
to help solve community issues (see Table 1).
Origins of Psychological Empowerment
Psychological empowerment has its origins in the relationship between
individuals and their community, especially in terms of how people understand issues
impacting their community (Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017; Li, 2016). Psychological
empowerment differs from the community psychology construct of self-esteem, which
centers around a person’s perceived control of personal outcomes not political ones.
Psychological empowerment also differs from the general psychology terms of
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competence and confidence since those concepts do not include sociopolitical factors
(Zimmerman, 1995).
Zimmerman’s psychological empowerment framework has its origins in earlier
research with Zahniser that centered around the development of the Sociopolitical
Control Scale. This earlier research was based on Bandura’s work on self-efficacy and
confidence. The Sociopolitical Control Scale is a survey where people report their
perceptions regarding their capabilities to control and change their communities
(Zimmerman & Zahniser, 1991). Since my qualitative study focused on educator
experiences with skill-building and not student perceptions of their sociopolitical control,
the Sociopolitical Control Scale was not used as a measurement instrument in my study.
Although the Sociopolitical Control Scale quantifies empowerment, Zimmerman
(1995) later claimed that a global measure of psychological empowerment may not be
possible since psychological empowerment is related to a person’s social context, beliefs,
and skills, which could fluctuate over time. Therefore, psychological empowerment has
limited generalizability and likely may not be reduced to a universal set of skills or single
definition (Li, 2016; Zimmerman, 1995). However, Zimmerman (1995) said that if
researchers consider the context of a research situation and life experiences of
participants, studies involving a psychological empowerment framework can be
completed without a global measure of psychological empowerment. Hipolito-Delgado
and Zion (2017) completed one such study by using a psychological empowerment
framework in a defined context and found that inquiry-based learning improved
understanding of and involvement in community issues for students. In my study, I
25
considered participants’ context and life situations to meet Zimmerman’s idea that a
psychological empowerment framework study can be completed without quantifying
psychological empowerment.
Rationale for Using Psychological Empowerment Constructs
The interactional and behavioral psychological empowerment constructs were
appropriate models to include as part of the conceptual framework for this study.
Psychological empowerment relates to my study’s RQs. See Table 1 for the relationship
of psychological empowerment constructs to the RQs for my study.
Since I explored how secondary educators describe their experiences using social
media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills, the study aligned with
Zimmerman’s (1995) psychological empowerment model. Students can use social media
to gain a diverse understanding of current issues and proactively help solve complex
problems in their communities (Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018;
Greenstein, 2012; Kornbluh, 2019; Magana, 2017; Manca et al., 2021). Moreover, the
interactional and behavioral psychological empowerment constructs fit my study because
researchers have found that psychological empowerment can increase for secondary
students in these areas through inquiry-based learning where students explore a problem
in their community and work to develop a solution (Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017;
Kornbluh, 2019). Overall, psychological empowerment provided operational language to
inform the phenomenon explored in this study as well as language and ideas for the RQs.
26
Rationale for Using Connectivism and Psychological Empowerment
The intersection of Siemens (2005) connectivism and Zimmerman’s (1995)
psychological empowerment closely relates to my study. The intersection of these two
models have implications for secondary education since technology has been found to
assist students in building digital literacy skills to understand and communicate about
their world (Kornbluh, 2019; Manca et al., 2021). Furthermore, connectivism and
psychological empowerment combined are connected to transformational educational
outcomes where students create and share authentic products with a global audience
through social media (Kasra, 2017; Magana, 2017). In my study, I explored how
secondary educators describe their experiences using social media to influence students’
psychological empowerment skills. This study builds on a growing body of research on
using social media for educational outcomes (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Gleason &
von Gillern, 2018; Kornbluh, 2019). Together, Siemens’ connectivism and Zimmerman’s
psychological empowerment provided an appropriate conceptual framework to inform
the exploration of how secondary educators describe their experiences using social media
to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
Social Media Uses in Education
Educators continue to reform their pedagogy through technology integration that
transforms their students’ learning and skill development so that students can connect
with people from around the world (Couros, 2015; Gleason, 2018; Greenstein, 2012;
Magana, 2017; Manca et al., 2021). These instructional practices relate to connectivism,
27
the conceptual framework of my study because learning occurs within shifting, complex
networks (see Siemens, 2005).
Researchers have found that when educators use social media as a learning tool,
they prepare students for college, careers, and civic life (Arceneaux & Dinu, 2018;
Farmer, 2020; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Kuruliszwili, 2018; Miller, 2018). In this
literature review, I explore how educators use social media in translational,
transformational, and transcendent ways. Magana (2017) uses these three terms to
describe the levels of technology uses in education. In my literature review, I explore
previous studies on social media and secondary educators’ experiences to determine the
gaps in how educators describe their use of social media to influence students’
psychological empowerment skills. I begin the literature review with a broad overview of
the prevalence of social media in daily life. I continue by discussing the latest studies in
social media for skill development in translational, transformational, and transcendent
ways. I also include a section on the challenges that educators face. I end my literature
review by exploring the best educational practices in psychological empowerment skill
development to influence students’ sociopolitical control.
Prevalence of Social Media Use in Daily Life
Social media is prevalent in teenagers’ lives and impacts information acquisition,
communication strategies, and digital footprints (Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason,
2018; Hodges, 2017; Kasra, 2017). Several researchers have studied the prevalence of
social media in the lives of teenagers. Gedik and Cosar (2020) found that 79% of Turkish
middle schoolers used social media. In a study in Finland, nearly 90% of students
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reported that they used social media every day, with Instagram, Twitter, Facebook,
Reddit, and YouTube being the most visited platforms (Horn & Veermans, 2019). In a
study in Tonga, 81% of secondary students reported using Facebook (Sopu et al., 2016).
Gray (2018) surveyed teenagers in the United Kingdom and found similar results, with
75% of surveyed students using social media several times a day. Researchers in the
United States have found similar rates of social media use. Rutledge et al. (2019) found
that 98% of high school students in Florida used social media. In a suburban California
high school, 73% of surveyed students used Instagram, 68% Snapchat, 34% Twitter, 26%
Facebook, and 16% YouTube (Hoffmann & Ramirez, 2018). Additionally, Instagram was
found to be the most used platform in several studies (Buchanan et al., 2017; Gray, 2018;
Hoffmann & Ramirez, 2018; Martin et al., 2018). Regardless of the preferred platform,
researchers have found that social media use among teenagers is prevalent worldwide.
Researchers have also explored gender differences with social media use. Gray
(2018) found that female students used social media more frequently than males. Martin
et al. (2018) found statistically significant gender differences regarding social media use.
Specifically, they found that girls start using social media at a younger age and check
their social media feeds more frequently (Martin et al., 2018). Researchers even found
that gifted girls felt so much pressure to be on Facebook each day because of their school
micro-celebrity status, even to the point of causing anxiety (Price et al., 2016). Overall,
researchers have found gender differences regarding social media exist.
In addition to exploring the preferred platforms and gender differences,
researchers have also explored why teenagers use social media. Researchers have found
29
that secondary students mainly use social media to learn about community issues and
communicate with others. Gray’s (2018) survey revealed that 9% of students used social
media to keep up with world events. Rutledge et al. (2019) discovered that 70% of high
school students used social media for informal learning on issues and interests.
Kuruliszwili’s (2018) survey found that 90% of Polish students sought information from
the internet every day, and 62% of students stated that the internet was their first choice
for information. In another survey, Little (2018) found that 46% of students got their
news from online sources, and Snapchat Discover was a popular source. Gedik and Cosar
(2020) found that 30% of Turkish middle schoolers used social media to gain information
about issues. Overall, using social media to discover news and information was a
common activity for secondary students.
Researchers have found that one problem with young people relying on the
internet for their news and information is that young people are not always able to
distinguish between credible social media posts and websites from misleading or false
ones (Horn & Veermans, 2019; Johnson & Ewbank, 2018; Stanford History Education
Group, 2016). This problem has led social scientists to discuss that the educator’s role
must evolve to build student skills in telling the difference between real and fake
information online (Gleason, 2018; Hoffmann & Ramirez, 2018; Huguet et al., 2021;
Little, 2018; Nettlefold & Williams, 2021; Stanford History Education Group, 2016).
Because social media has become an important tool in teenager’s lives, I explored how
educators describe teaching students the skills needed to accurately locate online
information as part of data collection in my study.
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In addition to using social media to learn information, teenagers use social media
to communicate with others. Martin et al. (2018) found that the two main reasons that
students used social media were to chat with friends and keep informed about what their
friends were doing. Communication on social media is also a way to organize activities
for sociopolitical engagement (Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018;
Kasra, 2017; Li, 2016). When teenagers use social media to communicate their ideas and
activities, they create a digital footprint. Kasra (2017) claims that teenagers need to
protect themselves from leaving a permanent record of negative images because even
when deleted, digital images are often saved elsewhere.
Social scientists have also theorized that a lack of a positive digital footprint could
be as damaging to a person’s future college and career prospects as a bad digital footprint
(Buchanan et al., 2017; Couros, 2015; Greenstein, 2012; Magana, 2017). In terms of
college admissions, a 2016 survey found that a positive digital footprint can increase a
student's chances of admission to college since 35% of college admissions officers
reported that they research applicants online, looking for evidence of strong writing skills
and community service (PRNewswire, 2016). Additionally, Buchanan et al. (2017) found
that most children, even as young as 10, understood the concept of a digital footprint in
terms of implications for a future job search. In my study, I explored how secondary
educators helped students use social media to communicate with others as well as how
educators discussed the importance of establishing a positive digital footprint as part of
data collection.
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Rationale for Using Magana’s T3 Framework
In the upcoming sections of my literature review, I discuss social media uses in
educational contexts while organizing the studies found by Magana’s (2017) T3
framework of translational, transformational, and transcendent student skill-building.
Translational uses of technology are those that could have been completed in an analog
way like a digital worksheet. Transformational uses are those that could not be completed
without technology, like sharing online creations with a global audience. Transcendent
technology uses are those where students achieve unexpected learning outcomes through
online connections (Magana, 2017). Magana’s T3 framework was selected because it
goes a step further than previous educational technology models like TPACK, which
stands for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and the SAMR model, which
stands for substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition. Mainly, the TPACK
and SAMR models focus on technology as a teaching tool rather than the skills that
students learn; in contrast, student skills are at the center of Magana’s T3 framework.
Magana’s T3 framework also supported my conceptual framework of connectivism,
which involves using technology for networked learning.
Furthermore, secondary educators have a practical reason to incorporate skill
development in the translational, transformative, and transcendent areas of technology
integration. Specifically, the translational uses of effective automated communications
and media consumption are prescribed by the Common Core State Standards in the
United States (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2019; Greenstein, 2012). These
standards further indicate that secondary students should have the skills to present
32
knowledge, write clear arguments supported by claims, research relevant information,
and use the internet to distribute information (Common Core State Standards Initiative,
2019; Greenstein, 2012). Internet publishing is central to transformative and transcendent
uses of technology. Another practical reason for using social media in the classroom is
that school administrators are starting to call for pedagogical incorporation of social
media. In a recent survey of secondary principals across the United States, 62% of 1,244
respondents stated that they wanted their educators to begin using social media more for
classroom activities (Dodson, 2020). In the upcoming sections of this literature review, I
explore the research on translational, transformational, and transcendent uses of social
media while discussing how those studies point to gaps in the literature that were
addressed by my study’s RQs.
Translational Uses of Social Media
Magana (2017) defines translational tasks as those that could have been
completed in an analog way like a digital worksheet. Educators employing translational
technology is an important scaffolding step in building student skills (Couros, 2015;
Magana, 2017). Educators can take the first step and use social media in the translational
ways of automated communication and media consumption. Translational automated
communication is sharing content online with a limited audience. Translational media
consumption involves students learning to locate credible information online. Since
students spend so much time on social media, they need to understand the implications of
sharing online content as well as the importance of consuming credible information
(Horn & Veermans, 2019; Johnson & Ewbank, 2018; Kuruliszwili, 2018; Nettlefold &
33
Williams, 2021; Stanford History Education Group, 2016). In this section of my literature
review, I explored how translational uses of social media for automated communication
and consumption connect to my study’s purpose and RQs.
Social Media for Translational Communication
One translational, automated communication area is when educators use social
media in closed groups to share administrative, non-instructional information.
Researchers have found that students were more engaged when educators used social
media to communicate class information (Hershkovitz et al., 2019; Hoffmann & Ramirez,
2018; Kornbluh, 2019; Loomis, 2018; Rosenberg & Asterhan, 2018; Rosenberg et al.,
2018). For example, one educator used hashtags to track common subjects, themes, or
questions (Loomis, 2018). Hoffmann and Ramirez (2018) found that 76% of surveyed
secondary students felt more engaged in their learning when educators communicated
with them via social media.
The researchers in several WhatsApp studies discovered that students preferred
communicating with their educators on WhatsApp over face-to-face communications
(Hershkovitz et al., 2019; Rosenberg & Asterhan, 2018; Rosenberg et al., 2018; Zan,
2019). Elhay and Hershkovitz (2019) also found that WhatsApp was the preferred
communication tool for 121 secondary educators in Israel, even beating out the telephone
and email as the preferred way to contact students outside class. Educators in Israel also
reported that being Facebook friends with students improved their relationships (Forkosh-
Baruch & Herskovitz, 2019). Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tajik and
Vahedi (2021) found that Iranian educators preferred social media as the main class
34
communication tool during distance learning with 51% of educators using WhatsApp. In
this same study, 81% of the 593 surveyed students reported that they used social media as
part of distance learning (Tajik & Vahedi, 2021). In contrast, in a study about Facebook
communication between educators and students, researchers found that students feared
that Facebook distorted and potentially harmed their relationships with their educators
(Herkovitz & Forkosh-Baruch, 2019). Even so, researchers have shown that when
educators use social media to communicate with even a limited audience, students
appreciated their educators using these communication tools.
Researchers have also found that closed social media groups were used for
students to discuss course content, further illustrating automated communication at the
translational level. For example, in Kornbluh’s (2019) study, 11 out of 12 interviewed
students indicated that they improved online communication skills in terms of
considering message purpose and multiple perspectives when using Facebook for
discussions. Other researchers also reported that closed Facebook groups were a
successful tool for class discussions. (Loomis, 2018; Wu, 2020). Additionally, Colwell et
al. (2018) explored literature discussions with 12 teenagers using a closed, social media
Ning network and discovered that students discussed literature in terms of the author’s
style and personal connections. They also found that students supported their claims with
textual evidence in their discussion posts (Colwell et al., 2018). WhatsApp was also
found to be a helpful discussion tool for chemistry and biology students (Abualrob &
Nazzal, 2020; Zan, 2019). Overall, researchers have found that discussions on closed
35
social media groups can be an effective automated communication strategy when
educators translate an analog classroom discussion into a digital space.
Social Media for Translational Consumption
Magana (2017) defines “media consumption” as “accessing some digital form of
content-related information or knowledge” (p. 31). Researchers have explored how
educators incorporate teaching strategies to improve student media consumption skills to
discover information about sociopolitical issues (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Ekström
& Shehata, 2018; Gleason, 2018; Magana, 2017). One skill studied is how students
examine online information for bias or false information (; Horn & Veermans, 2019;
Johnson & Ewbank, 2018; Stanford History Education Group, 2016). For example,
students were taught credibility cues like examining the author’s reputation and whether
the information can be confirmed in another source (Johnson & Ewbank, 2018; Little,
2018). Students have also been taught that several likes and comments on a social media
post does not equal trustworthiness (Johnson & Ewbank, 2018; Stanford History
Education Group, 2016). Another idea related to media consumption is finding diverse
perspectives online. Cladis (2020) reported that school assignments were one way to
force students to explore ideas outside of their pre-conceived beliefs. It is also important
to note that students need these evaluation skills to impact social change since society
cannot rely on social media companies or the government to eliminate all internet
misinformation (Johnson & Ewbank, 2018). Overall, researchers have studied how
educators teach students to identify and consume credible information online.
36
In addition to using social media in translational ways to teach media
consumption, researchers have studied how educators have used social media to teach
writing and language acquisition. For example, Loomis (2018) observed that students
used critical thinking and editing skills as they learned to write concise tweets. Loomis
(2018) also reported that student creativity improved when students began using images
combined with words to express their thoughts. Students in an online book discussion
study were also found to employ formal, academic language and argumentation in their
posts (Colwell et al., 2018). Additionally, in a study of English Language Learners,
students improved their English language skills while learning to collaborate on video
creations (Rosli & Idrus, 2017). Even with these studies, a gap in the literature exists in
terms of student skill development in the areas of automated communication and media
consumption. The studies examined in my literature review focused on student outcomes
and not what educators were explicitly doing to improve student skills. In my study, I
explored how secondary educators describe their experiences when social media was
used to develop students’ psychological empowerment skills.
Gap in the Research on Translational Skill Building
Gaps in the literature exist in the two translational technology areas—automated
communication and media consumption. Elhay and Hershkovitz (2019) stated that more
studies were needed about how social media impacts out-of-class communication
between educators and students. Hershkovitz et al. (2019) specifically called for
qualitative studies about social media for educator communication so that more detailed
aspects of this phenomenon are discovered. In terms of media consumption, Arceneaux
37
and Dinu (2018) stated that little research exists on the impact of social media on students
understanding global issues. Another gap in the literature involved educator experiences
with purposefully instructing on combining texts and images for richer, multimodal
automated communication. For example, Colwell et al. (2018) noted that although
technically feasible in Ning, book discussion participants did not include hyperlinks or
images to illustrate their text. Likewise, in a study by Abualrob and Nazzal (2020), only
0.2% of WhatsApp posts included links to further the discussions about chemistry and
biology content.
Furthermore, a meta-analysis of 271 articles about educators and social media
uses in the classroom that were published between 2005 and 2016 revealed that there is a
general gap in knowledge about ways to use social media successfully in educational
contexts (Van Den Beemt et al., 2020). In fact, of the 271 studies that qualified for this
meta-analysis, only 31 concentrated on experiences in secondary schools, and most of the
articles discussed case studies (Van Den Beemt et al., 2020). In another meta-analysis,
Manca et al. (2021) discovered that few studies examined specific skill development for
social media literacy. Manca et al. (2021) also discovered that only 4% of social media
studies from 2011-2019 were conducted in K-12 education environments. Results from
my study contributed to the overall gap in the use of social media in secondary education
by reporting on the experiences of a range of secondary educators.
Transformational Uses of Social Media
When educators go beyond the translational stage of technology use and
purposefully develop student skills in ways that are not possible without using
38
technology, those educators are designing transformational learning experiences (Couros,
2015; Magana, 2017). Understanding the ways that educators transform their pedagogy
by using social media to connect students and develop psychological empowerment skills
aligned with my study’s conceptual framework. This understanding also provided
insights into educational reforms where secondary educators help their students use social
media for social and political change. One way that educators have transformed learning
experiences is by having their students connect with people around the world through
social media to increase their sociopolitical engagement (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020;
Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason, 2018; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Skoric et al.,
2016). In this section of my literature review, I explore the research around how
educators use social media strategies to build student skills in the areas of digital artifact
production and contribution as well as ways to provide student feedback and engage
students in learning. My analysis of previous social media studies in these areas helped
me identify gaps in the literature.
Production of Authentic Digital Artifacts
Educators who use technology at the transformational level employ a variety of
teaching strategies with social media to promote student skill development through the
production of authentic digital artifacts. Transformational production involves students
creating online products that reach a global audience (Magana, 2017). Videos and
podcasts are examples of digital artifacts that students use to showcase their
understanding of complex problems on social media. Wargo and Clayton (2018) were
participant observers who examined the strategies educators used to teach video creation
39
skills with 23 high school students who created social change public service
announcement videos to share on social media platforms. In another study, Gruno et al.
(2018) explored how one educator taught students to use Instagram to promote healthy
lifestyles by posting photos of their workouts and inspirational quotations. Overall, few
studies have been conducted about digital artifact production for social change.
Researchers have also studied social media platforms as a way for educators to
have students showcase their authentic digital productions in online portfolios. Educators
have used Blogger, Tumblr, Ning, or other cloud-based social media platforms for these
digital student portfolios (Akdag & Ozkan, 2017; Casey & Evans, 2017; Magana, 2017).
One school district even implemented digital portfolios with over 10,000 students,
kindergarten to grade twelve (Couros, 2015). Students who start a blog portfolio in
kindergarten can keep representative products from their entire educational career in one
digital space (Magana, 2017). Blogs as a digital portfolio platform also allow students to
reflect on their growth as writers, creators, and thinkers as part of the blog posts that
showcase their work (Couros, 2015; Greenstein, 2012; Magana, 2017). Blogging takes on
a transformational nature in education as an online repository of student work that has the
potential to reach a global audience.
In addition to using blogs as a repository to showcase student work, educators
have used blogging to help students develop an authentic, academic writing voice (Akdag
& Ozkan, 2017; Couros, 2015; Levy et al., 2015). In a case study using interviews,
Akdag and Ozkan (2017) discovered that 6 of 14 students reported that blogging
motivated them to write. Levy et al.’s (2015) study is older but important since it is the
40
only study that specifically addresses blogging about political issues as part of a class
assignment. Levy et al. (2015) found a connection between blogging and writing skills in
a mixed-methods study of over 300 high school students in U.S. government classes.
Levy et al. (2015) revealed that students in blog-focused classes displayed more
confidence when writing about politics than the students in a comparison group. In my
study, I explored how secondary educators describe their experiences using social media
to teach digital production skills, online publishing, and writing to supplement the limited
research in this area.
Contribution of Artifacts to Teach Other Students
Researchers have found that some educators go beyond simply having their
students create digital products to having students share artifacts to contribute to the
learning of others. Magana (2017) defines contribution as a transformational component
where students use technology to teach other students about ideas or share knowledge as
part of a learning community. Instagram is one micro-blogging platform studied to
determine the impact of students contributing artifacts to teach others in the global
community. Gruno et al. (2018) wrote an action research paper that discussed how
students enjoyed being the teacher as well as learning from their classmates by creating
Instagram posts as part of their physical education class. Facebook and WhatsApp were
other social media platforms where students were found to post questions about
schoolwork and have other students comment for learning support (Campbell, 2019;
Kasperski & Blau, 2020; Zan, 2019).
41
Educators can also have students create authentic digital artifacts to build cultural
understanding. Kornbluh (2019) found that high school students in an urban area of the
United States began mixing across race, gender, and geographic lines because of a
Facebook project when they previously had not mixed. In a study in Chile, Scheihing et
al. (2018) explored how educators used the micro-blogging platform of Worklog to build
relationships and cultural understanding among students from different geographic areas
in Chile. Scheihing et al. (2018) analyzed 20,250 Worklog messages and found that
students were mainly writing posts to establish relationships between students. Another
interesting finding was that rural educators in this study reported in interviews that they
were more motivated to use the micro-blogging platform than their urban counterparts
(Scheihing et al., 2018). Blogging was found to be a way to build cultural understanding.
Besides contributing to others’ knowledge by sharing general information in short
posts, contribution artifacts can go more in-depth when students create tutorials to help
other students learn course content (Magana, 2017). Wikis and Nings are two social
media platforms that can be used as tools for tutorial artifacts (Casey & Evans, 2017; Chu
et al., 2017; DeWitt et al., 2017). In a mixed-methods study, Chu et al. (2017) explored
whether using wikis as a collaborative tool impacted writing quality for 219 secondary
students in Hong Kong. Participant interviews revealed that students in all 30 groups felt
PBworks was a useful and convenient tool for group writing (Chu et al., 2017). In another
study, DeWitt et al. (2017) used wiki document analysis and pretest and posttest
comparisons to discover that science scores were significantly higher for students who
participated in the wiki project with a t-value of 7.230. DeWitt et al. (2017) also analyzed
42
student interactions on wikis, finding that 29 of 45 groups interacted with the course
content and information on wikis. These studies revealed that educators have students use
social media to contribute to the learning of others.
Educator Strategies for Student Feedback
The global connections possible through social media platforms not only enhance
student production and contribution, but they also provide a platform for authentic
student feedback. Karal et al. (2017) studied the impact of participation in a Facebook
group where students provided feedback on each other’s writing. Document analysis of
Facebook posts revealed that students corrected each other’s spelling and punctuation
errors in the comments section of the posts (Karal et al., 2017). In another study, survey
and interview results show that blogging improved learning in dance classes because
students were more actively involved in their learning because of peer feedback (Li et al.,
2018). The educators in this study also reported that grading was more accurate because
the educators could see how much time students spent watching videos and evaluating
other students (Li et al., 2018). In short, having an online audience allows students to
receive feedback from someone other than their educator.
Another way that educators can provide authentic feedback to students is through
cooperation with professionals in their content area. Walsh and McGowan (2017)
completed a document analysis of social media feedback and found that students revised
their projects based on feedback from professional scientists. Specifically, coded
document analysis revealed that 16 of 17 student-created infographics scored higher on
the final rubric when students incorporated feedback from professional scientists (Walsh
43
& McGowan, 2017). In another study of social media feedback, Casey and Evans (2017)
reported that interviews revealed that students felt that peer feedback on their Ning posts
was generally positive, and they appreciated the immediate feedback. Overall, these
researchers have shown that educators can employ authentic assessment and feedback
strategies by using social media in transformational ways. In my study, I explored ways
that educators used social media to provide feedback from the educator, student peers,
and professionals outside the school community.
Educator Strategies for Student Engagement
When educators include social media lessons and strategies in the areas of digital
production, contribution, and feedback, those educators are using motivating and
engaging tools for students (Casey & Evans, 2017; Chu et al., 2017; Kosic, 2018; Zan,
2019). In one study, participant interviews revealed that wikis were motivating for
students because they provided an easy and efficient communication platform between
group members even outside of school hours (Chu et al., 2017). Akdag and Ozkan (2017)
specifically reported that 6 of 14 student participants stated that blogging was fun and
entertaining. Kosic’s (2018) participants also reported that they enjoyed collaborating
with their peers when creating movies for their YouTube channel about mental health
issues. Additionally, Klein (2019) found that social studies educators are starting to have
students create Tik Tok videos as an engaging way to show their understanding of
historical events. WhatsApp was also found to be a motivating tool for students to engage
with course content for mathematics and chemistry classes (Campbell, 2019; Zan, 2019).
44
For example, through surveys and focus groups, Campbell (2019) found that the social
aspect of a WhatsApp mathematics peer-tutoring program motivated students to learn.
Furthermore, using social media may be especially motivating for quiet or
socially isolated students (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Couros, 2015; Karal et al., 2017;
Kasperski & Blau, 2020). In an interview, one educator stated that a quiet student became
more confident online, even becoming one of the most active posters, and that student’s
confidence transferred to face-to-face classroom discussions (Karal et al., 2017).
Kasperski and Blau (2020) also found that social media as a classroom tool allowed shy
students to gain social capital by communicating their ideas more freely. Chapman and
Greenhow (2020) found that Twitter helped amplify the voice of socially isolated
students, especially students in the school’s Gay Straight Alliance. Overall, social media
applications have been shown to influence student engagement.
Another way that students are engaged with their learning through technology can
be found by analyzing the relationships that they form with educators and other students.
Researchers attest to the power of social media to connect students and educators in
transformative ways, even improving their relationships (Akas, 2018; Espinoza-Celi &
Morocho-Pintado, 2020; Gruno et al., 2018; Karal et al., 2017; Kasperski & Blau, 2020).
Additionally, through action research, Casey and Evans (2017) found that teenagers in
Australia formed relationships with Romanian and Russian students by engaging in
virtual conversations through Ning. Forming relationships with others is a part of the
connective power of social media.
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Student Skill Outcomes Through Transformational Social Media
In addition to the literature showing that educators can employ social media to
provide students with opportunities for digital product creation, authentic feedback, and
motivational tools, my literature review also revealed that educators can achieve specific
learning outcomes regarding student skill development. Several researchers have
discovered that social media platforms provide an effective tool to improve
communication skills (Akdag & Ozkan, 2017; Annamalai, 2016; Burtch, 2018; Chu et
al., 2017; Espinoza-Celi & Morocho-Pintado, 2020; Karal et al., 2017; Klein, 2019;
Walsh & McGowan, 2017). Additionally, several researchers have found that when
students learn production and contribution social media skills, they can become more
psychologically empowered digital citizens (Gruno et al., 2018; Levy et al., 2015; Li,
2016). Therefore, in this section of my literature review, I explore the strategies that
educators have used to incorporate social media tools in transformational ways for
intentional skill development.
Impact of Transformational Social Media Use on Communication Skills
Studies have shown that educators who use social media in transformational ways
can improve their students’ basic writing skills like grammar and punctuation
(Annamalai, 2016; Chu et al., 2017; Karal et al., 2017). For example, in Karal et al.’s
(2017) study, one educator commented that competition on the Facebook group might
have fueled careful attention to writing mechanics, which ultimately led to improved
writing skills. Additionally, through document analysis of Facebook comments,
researchers discovered that although Facebook comments focused on grammatical errors
46
and word choice, social media comments were an effective writing instruction tool
(Akdag & Ozkan, 2017; Annamalai, 2016). Espinoza-Celi and Morocho-Pintado (2020)
found that Twitter was an effective tool for improving the writing skills of their English
as a Foreign Language students. Furthermore, in a case study of 14 ninth-grade students
in Turkey, Akdag and Ozkan (2017) discovered that student writing improved from
initial blog posts with simple sentences to more complex sentences and sophisticated
vocabulary later. Regarding wikis, participant interviews revealed that all students felt
PBworks was an effective and convenient tool for group writing, allowing for active
revisions (Chu et al., 2017). Overall, researchers who studied using social media for
writing instruction suggested that these tools can help educators improve student writing
at the punctuation, vocabulary, and conventions level.
In addition to transformational social media practices improving writing at the
mechanics level, researchers have found that strategies using social media can improve
higher-order writing skills like rhetoric and argumentation. Burtch (2018) reports that
students gained rhetorical analysis skills by analyzing tweets and Instagram posts as well
as the rhetoric of emojis. These rhetorical skills transferred to student writing as students
paid more attention to audience and purpose when writing social media posts (Burtch,
2018). Walsh and McGowan’s (2017) study on feedback from professional scientists
showed that students improved argumentation by supporting claims with evidence. Kosic
(2018) also observed that students learned rhetorical analysis skills when discussing their
peers’ YouTube videos. The results of these studies suggested that educators who provide
students with social media writing opportunities can improve rhetorical writing skills of
47
students. Since writing is an important skill for full civic engagement, exploring the
literature on writing skills was an important part of my study.
Impact of Transformational Social Media Use on Psychological Empowerment
One area of production of digital artifacts and contribution to the learning of
others that straddles the transformational and transcendent levels of technology
integration is when students use social media for social change. Although using social
media for psychological empowerment will be discussed in more depth in the
transcendent section of my literature review, previewing a few key studies at this point is
needed because of a blurred boundary between transformational and transcendent uses.
For today’s youth, social media systems are central to their politically engaging
actions (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Farmer, 2020). Arab
Spring, Ferguson, and Black Lives Matter are examples of political movements fueled by
social media (Hodges, 2017; Kasra, 2017). In a longitudinal, 5-year study of nearly 1,000
adolescents in Sweden, Ekström and Shehata (2018) found that student interaction with
social media coincided with their political engagement. Additionally, after analyzing the
literature, Gleason and von Gillern (2018) concluded that educators who use social media
can help develop the digital citizenship of high school students, even providing a
platform for students to connect with elected officials. Furthermore, Skoric et al.’s (2016)
meta-analysis of 22 studies showed that a positive relationship exists between social
media consumption and civic and political participation.
In terms of skill development, researchers have found that when social media is
used in an educational context, social media can foster collaborative discourse and
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provide an opportunity to gain diverse perspectives, which are essential psychological
empowerment skills (Annamalai, 2016; Burtch, 2018; Ekström & Shehata, 2018;
Kornbluh, 2019). Although researchers explored how students use social media for
psychological empowerment, they did not explore how educators were involved in the
skill-building process, which was a focus of my study.
Gap in the Research on Transformational Skill Building
In the transformational technology section of my literature review, I discovered
many areas that need further study. Regarding skill development, the most researched
area appeared to be writing instruction. Even so, Akdag and Ozkan (2017) claim that
more studies are needed to discover if blogging improves writing skills and learner
autonomy. Annamalai (2016) discussed that more research needs to be conducted on
ways that educators encourage higher-level thinking when students comment on each
other’s work on social media. Additionally, DeWitt et al. (2017) said that further studies
are needed to determine the scaffolding strategies that educators provide when students
complete projects using social media. Moreover, Rutledge et al. (2019) said the education
field needs a comprehensive examination of how educators can leverage social media as
a way of “providing rich learning experiences and building school community” (p. 26).
Other researchers have called for more research on social media so that social media can
become a common classroom tool for active learning (Greenhow & Chapman, 2020;
Manca et al., 2021; Zan, 2019). In terms of psychological empowerment, most studies on
social media and psychological empowerment were conducted outside educational
contexts, yet Manca and Grion (2017) report that this type of engagement in education is
49
important and should be investigated. In my study, I explored how secondary educators
describe their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological
empowerment skills to help fill these gaps in the literature.
Transcendent Uses of Social Media
The third level in Magana’s (2017) T3 framework for using educational
technology is labeled transcendent. Educators who incorporate transcendent uses of
technology provide students with classroom experiences that go well beyond normal
experiences, resulting in unprecedented growth in student skills. The transcendent level
of Magana’s framework stresses innovation through inquiry design, product creation, and
service-learning. Moreover, when educators implement the transcendent strategies of
inquiry design, product creation, and service-learning, they are teaching their students
communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking skills (Couros, 2015;
Gleason, 2018; Magana, 2017; Manca et al., 2021; Soparat et al., 2015). Siemens’ (2005)
connectivism, the conceptual framework for my study, aligned with these transcendent
educational uses of social media since students learn in complex, shifting networks. In
this section of my literature review, I explore the research on educators who use inquiry
design, product creation, and service-learning to teach their students the skills needed to
use social media for psychological empowerment and sociopolitical engagement.
Inquiry Design
One type of transcendent technology use includes inquiry design where students
are at the center of the learning experience, and they research problems that matter to
them (Akas, 2018; Couros, 2015; Magana, 2017; Soparat et al., 2015). In inquiry design,
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students can use social media as a tool to investigate problems, gather evidence, receive
feedback from experts, and communicate their findings to a global audience. Kornbluh
(2019) found that students increased their civic participation when they used Facebook as
part of their social justice project on health issues in their school communities. In an older
inquiry design study, Soparat et al. (2015) used a participatory action research method to
explore how eight teachers used project-based learning in connection with social media
with 212 students in four schools. They found that during inquiry design, students
displayed creative thinking and problem-solving skills during their project on renewable
energy, and students gained the life skills of collaboration and goal setting. In short,
researchers have shown that students gain skills through inquiry design that uses social
media. However, a gap in the literature existed since few studies existed in this area, and
Soparat et al.’s (2015) study is older. Additionally, the researchers in these two studies
did not explore the specific strategies that educators used to achieve psychological
empowerment skill development.
Product Creation
The second type of transcendent technology use includes product creation or
social entrepreneurship (Couros, 2015; Magana, 2017). Social entrepreneurship occurs
when a created product improves the lives of others by meeting an authentic need
(Magana, 2017). When educators create these types of transcendent tasks, they capitalize
on the highest level of cognitive engagement, which is the creation level (Couros, 2015;
Wang et al., 2014). Product creation even allows the classroom to begin functioning like
a start-up company, providing students with entrepreneurial skills like creative thinking
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and product design (Magana, 2017; Soparat et al., 2015). In one article on product
creation, Akas (2018) reported on how sighted students learned social entrepreneurship
skills by developing manipulative tools to teach blind students geometry skills, and these
students then marketed their creations and lessons on Twitter. Magana (2017) also
reported on how students gained marketing skills during virtual field trip projects to the
Arctic and Amazon. Additionally, students in Wargo and Clayton’s (2018) study created
public service announcements about social issues as part of a social change project, using
social media to advocate for their causes and share their public service announcements.
Overall, social media provides an economical and easy-to-use platform for educators to
have their students engage in social entrepreneurship (Ekström & Shehata, 2018).
Service Learning
Social entrepreneurship, inquiry design, and service-learning overlap in some
ways since they are often part of student research projects. Service-learning, specifically,
occurs when educators use community involvement activities so that students learn skills
while helping others at the same time (Akas, 2018). Education and advocacy are two
components of service-learning that can benefit from using social media tools. In fact,
researchers have examined educators who use social media to provide students with a
greater understanding of community issues and advocate for social change (Akas, 2018;
Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Gruno et al., 2018; Miller,
2018; Wargo & Clayton, 2018). For example, Gruno et al. (2018) discussed how students
using Instagram could influence a global audience about health and fitness issues. These
health students also learned about the power of reaching a global audience when Wahoo,
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a heartrate monitor company, started following the student’s Instagram account and
ended up donating 30 heart monitors to the class to track the impact of their exercise
program (Gruno et al., 2018). Additionally, Miller (2018) reported on a service-learning
project where students used Facebook and Twitter to advocate for more people to become
Family and Consumer Sciences educators by spreading positive social media messages.
Although researchers have shown that social media can be used as an educational tool as
part of service-learning projects, little is known about specific strategies educators use for
psychological empowerment skill development through service-learning.
Gap in the Research on Transcendent Skill Building
Overall, researchers have found a positive relationship between active social
media use for students and their sociopolitical engagement in terms of educating others
and advocating for causes (Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason, 2018; Gleason & von
Gillern, 2018; Hodges, 2017; Li, 2016; Skoric et al., 2016). However, limited information
is available about specific social media strategies that educators use for psychological
empowerment skill development. The problem of my study is that little is understood
about how secondary educators describe their experiences using social media to influence
students’ psychological empowerment skills. Transcendent uses of social media are at the
heart of this psychological empowerment skill development. In fact, social media is a
powerful tool that students can use for social change to advocate for social and political
issues (Farmer, 2020; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Greenstein, 2012; Hodges, 2017;
Manca et al., 2021). To be able to teach these social media advocacy skills effectively,
educators may need professional development and a deeper understanding of the research
53
in this area (Nettlefold & Williams, 2021; Rutledge et al., 2019; Soparat et al., 2015).
Data from my study contributed to the gap in understanding the specific strategies that
educators use to teach social media advocacy.
Challenges to Using Social Media in Educational Contexts
Although using social media can impact student skill development, researchers
have discovered that educators encounter several challenges when using social media
with students. Since I examined the breadth of educator experiences in my study, my
literature review needed to explore research studies that discovered challenges to using
social media. The challenges found in the literature can be classified into themes of
inappropriate content, student safety, polarized political discourse, time management, and
educational efficacy.
Inappropriate Content
Educators who use social media strategies need to be aware that students might
post inappropriate content online. In fact, social media can be used to disseminate
prejudicial and hateful messages and images that can have a permanent, negative impact
on a student’s digital footprint (Kasra, 2017). Some researchers have noticed
inappropriate posts and comments during document analysis of social media accounts in
their studies, or their participants reported being offended by social media content from
other study participants (Burtch, 2018; Casey & Evans, 2017; Gleason, 2018).
Additionally, one educator stated that there is so much content on social media that the
educator needed to rely on students to monitor the content of their peers, even though the
educator reported that it was difficult giving control to the students (Casey & Evans,
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2017). Additionally, Challenor et al. (2018) analyzed 298 randomly selected teen social
media accounts and found that although the teenagers rarely included sexually explicit
photographs, they found that 50% of teenagers included emojis of a sexual nature on their
social media profiles. In short, educators employing social media with secondary students
need to have a plan for dealing with inappropriate content.
Student Safety
Educators using social media for educational purposes also need to address safety
concerns such as privacy and cyberbullying. Manca and Grion (2017) discovered that a
Facebook advocacy project failed since students were reluctant to share their opinions
because their comments were not private, and they feared they would get in trouble for
expressing their thoughts. Gruno et al. (2018) also discovered that some health students
were hesitant to share information or photographs of themselves on social media for
privacy reasons. Wargo and Clayton’s (2018) field notes indicated that student fears
about oversharing might be warranted since some adults in the school, such as
secretaries, administrators, and police liaison officers, complained that the student-
created public service announcements put the school in a negative light. Klein (2019) also
found that some secondary students were hesitant to feature themselves in class Tik Tok
videos out of a concern for privacy. Likewise, Herskovitz and Forkosh-Baruch (2019)
found that 227 of 667 secondary students in their study felt that connecting with their
educator on Facebook was an invasion of privacy. Secondary students in Kasperski and
Blau’s (2020) study also were hesitant to friend their educators on Facebook because of
fears about privacy.
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Educators also have privacy concerns. In focus groups in Sweden, educators
discussed the ethical considerations of crossing the privacy boundary between
professional and personal relationships with students. These educators reported that they
often limited what they posted on their social media accounts (Thunman & Persson,
2018). Additionally, chemistry teachers using WhatsApp with students reported that the
academic boundary between educator and student became blurred (Zan, 2019). Educators
in Forkosh-Baruch and Herkovitz’s (2019) study also reported that they feared the
blurred boundaries between students and educators when they became Facebook friends,
which resulted in educators limiting what they posted on their Facebook pages. Educators
in this study also feared that the blurred lines could result in students not respecting their
educators as much. One way that educators have met this privacy challenge is by creating
separate social media accounts for personal and school lives (Casey & Evans, 2017).
Another way that educators have maintained privacy is by controlling the membership of
social media groups (Campbell, 2019; Casey & Evans, 2017; Colwell et al., 2018).
Privacy and safety issues are most concerning when social media is used as a
platform for cyberbullying (Alshawareb & Alnasraween, 2020; Martin et al., 2018;
Rodríguez-Enríquez et al., 2019). Half of the surveyed students in a First Nations study
reported that they had been victims of cyberbullying, and 20% of surveyed students
admitted that they had cyberbullied someone (Laronde et al., 2017). Gray (2018) also
found that 47% of surveyed students were upset by something posted online about them.
Rodríguez-Enríquez et al. (2019) found that 40% of secondary students in their study
reported that they were cyber-victims. Additionally, in Li et al.’s (2018) study, some
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students used fake usernames and made mean comments during dance critiques. In fact,
the educators in this study eventually had to turn off the social media comments feature
because it was too much work to monitor the comments.
Even though privacy and safety issues are a challenge, researchers reported that
educators have met this challenge by seeking parent permission, establishing procedures,
and addressing cyberbullying. For example, researchers found that educators often gained
parent permission to use social media as part of classroom activities (Abualrob & Nazzal,
2020; Campbell, 2019; Casey & Evans, 2017; Gruno et al., 2018; Loomis, 2018). For
example, Loomis (2018) communicated to parents the reasons for using Twitter as a tool
to personalize learning and promote collaboration. Loomis also made sure to establish
class etiquette and procedures for posting to social media, making those discussions an
extension of the classroom. In another study, the educator was clear with students that
they could opt-out of sharing on social media (Gruno et al., 2018). Researchers also
found that educators met social media challenges by confronting cyberbullying with a
variety of interventions like direct curricular instruction, consoling the victim, talking to
the bully directly, and getting administrators involved (Del Rey et al., 2018; Gimenez-
Gualdo et al., 2018; Zeichner, 2019). School counselors also have a part to play in
cyberbullying prevention. Altundag and Ayas (2020) found that professional
development programs for school counselors were successful in giving educators
strategies to deal with cyberbullying. I designed my study so that I might be able to add
to the literature regarding the safety challenges that educators experience when using
social media with students.
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Polarized Political Discourse
Political disagreements can often arise on social media, so educators need
strategies to handle those situations. Levy et al. (2015) interviewed an educator involved
in a U.S. Government course that purposefully taught political writing skills through
blogging. Even though this was a government class, the educator did not engage with
students online nor require students to respond to other posts for fear of heated political
exchanges (Levy et al., 2015). Additionally, Gleason and von Gillern (2018) caution
educators that it might be inappropriate to have students engage in political opinions and
contact elected officials as part of a school assignment. In contrast, Burtch (2018) posits
that political polarization should not stop educators from using social media as a teaching
tool because political polarization in the United States may be caused partly by education
systems that fail to teach these skills. Manca et al., (2021) also acknowledge that people
need information literacy skills because of the “polarized information driving a surge in
hate and discrimination” on social media (p. 2). One case study also examined how five
social studies teachers used Twitter for civic education, embracing the political
polarization for active learning (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020). Since the research is
unclear regarding if educators should use social media for student political discussions,
my study can contribute to filling this gap.
Time Management
Another practical concern for educators is that incorporating social media
assignments into the curriculum can be time-consuming for both educators and students.
For example, some researchers reported that students felt they needed more training time
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to learn to use the technology (Kosic, 2018; Li et al., 2018). Through student interviews,
Li et al. (2018) found that students reported that blog posts for dance class became
intrusive and consumed too much time. Social media has also been found to be time-
consuming for educators in terms of monitoring content and commenting on posts
(Burtch, 2018; Casey & Evans, 2017; Gruno et al., 2018; Li et al., 2018; Zan, 2019). For
example, chemistry educators in Zan’s (2019) WhatsApp study reported that students
continued to send messages to them late at night. Likewise, educators in Forkosh-Baruch
and Herskovitz’s (2019) study felt the pressure to be available to students at all hours
when they were Facebook friends. Time management was an educator concern.
Educational Efficacy
Another challenge that educators face is deciding on the educational efficacy of
using social media with secondary students. Researchers have noted negative student and
educator attitudes about using social media in the classroom. For example, researchers
have found that some students preferred face-to-face discussions and believed Facebook
was a social tool for pleasure and should not be part of their academic space (Hershkovtiz
& Forkosh-Baruch, 2019; Manca & Grion, 2017). Additionally, Levy et al. (2015)
discovered that student self-advocacy online did not translate to external actions, which is
a finding that led these researchers to question the efficacy of using social media for
social and political engagement. Furthermore, educators and students also worried about
equity issues in terms of all students having equal access to social media connections
(Forkosh-Baruch & Herkovitz, 2019; Herkovitz & Forkosh-Baruch, 2019).
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Researchers have also found negative educator attitudes. For example, Nettlefold
and Williams (2021) found that Australian educators were frustrated that teaching social
media literacy skills fell to educators, and 25% of those surveyed educators did not feel
they had the skills to teach students to vet online information for accuracy. Additionally,
Sarac’s (2018) qualitative study of 42 middle school educators found that many educators
had negative attitudes about using social media, comparing social media to harmful
concepts in a metaphor activity. Williams (2021) also found that 10 educators in a
qualitative study who were born before 1974 had negative attitudes about social media
and students. These educators felt social media was a distraction that “breeds drama that
infiltrates the classroom” (Williams, 2021, p. 114). In contrast, researchers have noted
that educators found social media to be an efficacious tool to use with students and do so
even when doing so is restricted (Elhay & Hershkovitz, 2019; Hershovitz et al., 2019;
Hershovtiz & Forkosh-Baruch, 2019). Since some negative attitudes about using social
media exist, my study on a broad range of educator experiences may contribute further
understanding on this issue.
Best Practices for Psychological Empowerment Skill Building
Educators are beginning to incorporate strategies and curriculum to influence
students’ psychological empowerment skills to support their students in becoming
engaged citizens. When people feel in control of situations through understanding the
sociopolitical issues in their communities and work proactively to solve them, they feel a
sense of psychological empowerment (Zimmerman, 1995; Zimmerman & Zahniser,
1991). In my study, I explored how secondary educators describe their experiences using
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social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills so that students
have the skills to understand community issues and proactively work for social change. I
selected these two psychological empowerment skills as part of my study’s conceptual
framework because researchers have found that psychological empowerment can increase
for secondary students in these two areas through inquiry-based learning about
community problems (Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017; Mathe, 2018; Zimmerman &
Zahniser, 1991). Furthermore, Zimmerman (1995) categorized psychological
empowerment into the three components of intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral
psychological empowerment. In this section of my literature review, I explore educator
best practices for student skill development in the areas of intrapersonal, interactional,
and behavioral psychological empowerment.
Psychological empowerment is tangentially related to the term critical
consciousness. Specifically, Ladson-Billings (2009) defines critical consciousness as the
component of Culturally Relevant Teaching that captures how educators work to develop
sociopolitical awareness and skills in their students. Critical consciousness skills include
understanding multiple perspectives, critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-
making so that students feel empowered to advocate for social change in their
communities (Godfrey & Grayman, 2014; Ladson-Billings, 2009; Styslinger et al., 2019).
Although critical consciousness is tangentially connected to psychological empowerment,
for the purposes of alignment for my study, I focused my literature review on the
intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral components of psychological empowerment.
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Best Practices in Intrapersonal Psychological Empowerment
Intrapersonal psychological empowerment involves policy control through self-
advocacy, student voice, and leadership skills. Zimmerman (1995) defines intrapersonal
psychological empowerment as a person’s “self-efficacy, motivation to control, perceived
competence, and mastery” in various aspects of their life (p. 588). In reviewing the
literature on intrapersonal psychological empowerment, I found that educators
demonstrate best practices in intrapersonal psychological empowerment when they
provide opportunities for students to gain skills in self-advocacy, student voice, and
leadership through activities involving civic engagement.
Self-advocacy
Self-advocacy skills are related to the concepts of self-confidence, self-
determination, and critical hopefulness. Researchers have found that educational
programs can promote feelings of self-confidence for students (Chapman-Hilliard &
Beasley, 2018; Eisman et al., 2016). For example, researchers using a quantitative study
with pretest and posttest survey results found that teenagers who participated in an
afterschool program called Youth Empowerment Solutions improved their intrapersonal
psychological empowerment (Eisman et al., 2016). In a survey of 1,039 educators in
Taiwan, Chao and Chou (2017a) found that 76% of educators taught psychological
empowerment skills like self-advocacy, with female educators more likely to teach these
psychological empowerment skills. In a second study, these researchers found that a
positive correlation existed between self-determination and academic achievement for
junior high special education students in Taiwan with a .47 bivariate correlation between
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psychological empowerment and scores on state academic tests (Chao & Chou, 2017b).
Overall, researchers have found that self-advocacy and self-determination skills can
increase for secondary students when educators provide certain learning environments.
Another term closely related to self-advocacy is critical hopefulness. Christens et
al. (2018) define critical hopefulness as when someone has a high level of both emotional
and cognitive control over their life. They studied the emotional and cognitive
components of psychological empowerment in youth by surveying 389 high school
students in an urban area of the Northeast U.S to determine levels of social justice
orientation, civic engagement, and sense of community. Data somewhat supports their
hypothesis that youth have greater levels of critical hopefulness than adults. These
findings led Christens et al. (2018) to caution educators not to assume that young people
are at a deficit in terms of intrapersonal psychological empowerment. In fact, these
results may indicate that young people have higher levels of intrapersonal psychological
empowerment than adults, so educators may want to capitalize on this area of student
engagement. In sum, no matter the term at the heart of the study of self-advocacy and
psychological empowerment, researchers have found that students can benefit from skill
development in this area.
Student Voice and Leadership
Researchers have found that secondary educators can influence students’
intrapersonal psychological empowerment through student leadership opportunities and
amplifying student voice to advocate for community issues. In fact, researchers have
found that psychologically empowered students had educators who encouraged student
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voice in the classroom by engaging students in authentic conversations about critical
community issues (Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Chapman-Hilliard & Beasley, 2018;
Kornbluh, 2019; Mathé, 2018; Wargo & Clayton, 2018). For example, in a qualitative
study based on interviews with nine Norwegian secondary students, Mathé (2018) found
that students believed that school provided an important forum for learning to discuss
politics. Additionally, several participants in a focus-group study stated that Black
Studies courses provided an opportunity for increased student voice because students of
color were more comfortable speaking about their experiences in the United States
(Chapman-Hilliard & Beasley, 2018). In fact, student voice in the classroom was found to
be an important component of intrapersonal psychological empowerment.
Researchers have also discovered that digital writing assignments can increase the
psychological empowerment of young people by amplifying their voice beyond the
classroom walls. Wargo and Clayton (2018) studied how urban youth used technology to
create public service announcements and a documentary to amplify student voice for
social change. Levy et al. (2015) discovered that students in blog-focused social studies
classes were more interested in politics and displayed more confidence when
communicating about politics than the students in a comparison group. The educators in
Chapman and Greenhow’s (2020) study reported that students were empowered to use
Twitter to contact government officials and amplify their civic voice. In sum, researchers
have shown that digital writing can amplify student voice, a component of intrapersonal
psychological empowerment.
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Students who display intrapersonal psychological empowerment also often have
strong leadership skills. Gutuskey et al. (2016) found that participating in a student-led,
healthy eating program helped students grow as listeners and leaders. Additionally,
Lardier’s (2018) survey of students of color who were active in their community found
that these teenagers saw themselves as leaders able to organize people. Having strong
skills in the areas of leadership, voice, and self-advocacy remain important parts of
intrapersonal psychological empowerment.
Best Practices in Interactional Psychological Empowerment
Students can feel empowered through self-advocacy on their own; however,
working with others leads to a higher level of interactional psychological empowerment.
According to Zimmerman (1995), interactional psychological empowerment involves
understanding community issues and developing the skills needed to mobilize resources
and relationships for social change. Researchers have shown that best practices for
increasing interactional psychological empowerment include building supportive adult
relationships, using social media for mobilizing activities, and understanding the diverse
perspectives of community issues.
Supportive Adult Relationships
Zimmerman (1995) asserts that young people need mentors to teach them
empowering adult activities so that adolescents find their voice and increase their
interactional psychological empowerment. Other researchers have confirmed that a
supportive adult in educational contexts is a factor in increasing interactional
psychological empowerment for secondary students (Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017;
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Weybright et al., 2017; Zimmerman et al., 2018). For example, supportive adult
relationships through intergenerational collaboration were found to increase interactional
psychological empowerment (Zimmerman et al., 2018). Students of color also showed
higher psychological empowerment when nurturing Black professors were role models of
academic excellence who held students to high standards (Chapman-Hilliard & Beasley,
2018). In yet another study, Weybright et al. (2017) interviewed 61 teenagers in an
intergenerational 4-H program. They found that youth felt equal to adults in the program,
and the teenagers valued the insights that adults brought to the program. The teenagers
also reported that their self-confidence grew through personalized feedback from their
adult partners (Weybright et al., 2017). In sum, researchers have shown that supportive
adult relationships are an important element in developing interactional empowerment.
Social Media for Mobilizing Activities
In addition to supportive adults being mentors who assist teenagers in their
psychological empowerment development, researchers have also found that teenagers
who use social media for mobilizing activities can improve interactional psychological
empowerment. Ekström and Shehata (2018) completed a 5-year longitudinal study that
surveyed nearly 1,000 students, with the study starting when participants were in middle
school and continuing through their high school career. These researchers found that
interacting with social media had a clear impact on political engagement, with as many as
65% of adolescents engaged in political activities. In a qualitative study based on
document analysis, Gleason and von Gillern (2018) analyzed the Twitter accounts of
three high school students over 2 years and found that all three used Twitter to engage
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with politics, using multiple sources of information to support their posts. Additionally,
Skoric et al.’s (2016) meta-analysis found that positive relationships existed between
social media use and political participation, and the meta-analysis dismissed a common
misconception that social media was merely a toxic platform for political engagement.
Moreover, Manca et al. (2021) discuss that the highest level of social media literacy
involves using social media for social and political purposes for social change.
In contrast, Mathé (2018) found that all interviewed students were reluctant to
discuss politics on social media because they believed that they could not sway another
person’s opinion through a social media post. Even so, Mathé (2018) urged educators to
provide students with the skills needed to participate in political discussions online since
social media has become an important sphere of political debate. It is important to note
that the studies cited in this section were about adolescents outside of school. However, I
have included them since few studies exist about secondary education and social media
use for political engagement to influence psychological empowerment skills, and this
phenomenon was at the core of my study. I designed my study so that I might be able to
contribute to this gap in the literature.
Understanding Community Issues
Another component of interactional psychological empowerment is that people
need to have a critical awareness of issues impacting their community. This critical
awareness relates to the psychological empowerment constructs of decision-making and
problem-solving (Zimmerman, 1995). Researchers have found that educators have used
inquiry learning that focuses on decision-making and problem-solving to increase their
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students’ abilities to think critically about social issues (Eisman et al., 2016; Ekström &
Shehata, 2018; Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017; Kornbluh, 2019; Zimmerman et al.,
2018). For example, Hipolito-Delgado and Zion (2017) studied inquiry-based learning in
a critical civic inquiry curriculum where students researched a problem and engaged in
conversations with adults about potential solutions. The 111 students in this study were
compared to a control classroom, and data from surveys at the start and end of curriculum
implementation show that inquiry-based learning improved self-efficacy and
psychological empowerment for marginalized students (Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017).
Inquiry learning when combined with using social media may also increase a
teenager’s understanding of issues. Ekström and Shehata (2018) measured youth online
political engagement and found that secondary students learned political information
from blogs, videos, or websites. Skoric et al.’s (2016) meta-analysis revealed that the
strongest positive relationship between social media use and political engagement existed
in terms of using social media to gain information about community issues. Specifically,
the relationship was “positive and significant across all studies” with a correlation size of
r = .37 (Skoric et al., 2016, p. 1833). Kornbluh (2019) also found that social media can
increase a student’s sociopolitical awareness. Even so, researchers advocate for more
research in educational contexts regarding social media for increased civic expression
(Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Kornbluh, 2019; Manca et al., 2021). Since the literature
is limited in this area, I explored these gaps in my study.
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Best Practices in Behavioral Psychological Empowerment
The behavioral component of psychological empowerment is defined as “actions
taken to directly influence outcomes,” such as being involved in community
organizations (Zimmerman, 1995, p. 590). Researchers have found that when young
people understand community issues, they have greater behavioral psychological
empowerment and policy control because they can proactively help solve community
issues (Eisman et al., 2016; Zimmerman, 1995; Zimmerman & Zahniser, 1991). In fact,
the greatest understanding of behavioral psychological empowerment comes from
exploring the studies that examine the overlap of intrapersonal, interactional, and
behavioral psychological empowerment.
Two such studies evaluated the Youth Empowerment Solutions program in Flint,
Michigan to determine what factors impacted student psychological empowerment in
terms of intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral control (Eisman et al., 2016;
Zimmerman et al., 2018). In Eisman et al.’s (2016) study, researchers surveyed 367
middle school students in this afterschool program. They confirmed that psychological
empowerment can be classified into the three components of intrapersonal, interactional,
and behavioral control. Their results also support the idea that educators should
collectively teach the three psychological empowerment components for the greatest
levels of positive psychological empowerment development. Zimmerman et al. (2018)
also evaluated this afterschool program by examining 367 middle school students
working on a social change project. They used an experimental, pretest/posttest design
with a control group to compare students in the Youth Empowerment Solutions program
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to students in the usual afterschool program. They found an increase in student
psychological empowerment and other prosocial behaviors like responsible decision-
making and academic effort (Zimmerman et al., 2018). Overall, these psychological
empowerment studies were important to my study because they examined how the
intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral elements of psychological empowerment can
be taught collectively. I designed my study to explore the connection of teaching
psychological empowerment skills alongside teaching social media skills so that I might
be able to contribute to filling this gap in the literature.
Gap in the Psychological Empowerment Literature
Although I have discussed studies that explored psychological empowerment in
educational contexts, my literature review revealed an overall gap in this literature for
educators. In fact, I found that most psychological empowerment studies were conducted
in the areas of health care or community programming. Researchers have specifically
called for more studies of psychological empowerment in educational contexts (Chao &
Chou, 2017b; Gutuskey et al., 2016; Skoric et al., 2016). In a meta-analysis, Christens et
al. (2018) located only one previous study that had examined psychological
empowerment for both emotional and cognitive components of psychological
empowerment, and that study was conducted with adult participants. A gap also exists
between the specific connection of psychological empowerment to social media for
sociopolitical engagement. For example, Levy et al. (2015) point to an overall gap in the
literature regarding youth political participation. Other researchers also assert that more
research in this area is needed because of the growing impact of social media on politics
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(Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Manca et al., 2021; Skoric et al., 2016). In my study, I
addressed this gap by exploring how secondary educators describe their experiences
using social media to influence the psychological empowerment constructs of leadership,
advocacy, and understanding sociopolitical issues.
Summary and Conclusions
In Chapter 2, I explained the problem of my study which is that little is
understood about how secondary educators describe their experiences using social media
to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills. Social media is a powerful tool
that citizens, including students, can use to advocate for social and political issues
(Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Farmer, 2020; Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Kornbluh,
2019). Researchers have also found that when educators use social media as a learning
tool, they prepare students for college, careers, and civic life (Arceneaux & Dinu, 2018;
Gleason & von Gillern, 2018; Kuruliszwili, 2018; Miller, 2018). Educators are beginning
to reform their pedagogy by instructing their students on using social media to connect
with people from around the world (Couros, 2015; Gleason, 2018; Greenstein, 2012;
Magana, 2017). Additionally, educators who are using social media with students face
challenges like safety, privacy, bullying, time management, and educational efficacy
(Burtch, 2018; Gimenez-Gualdo et al., 2018; Gray, 2018; Laronde et al., 2017; Li et al.,
2018; Martin et al., 2018). However, when these challenges are addressed, educators
have used social media in translational, transformational, and transcendent ways. These
three areas of skill-building, taken from Magana’s (2017) T3 framework, supported the
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purpose of my study, which was to explore how secondary educators describe their
experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
In this chapter, I have shown that secondary educators are beginning to use social
media strategies to influence the intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral
psychological empowerment of students to help students become more engaged citizens.
Intrapersonal psychological empowerment involves opportunities to gain skills in self-
advocacy, student voice, and leadership through activities involving civic engagement
(Chapman-Hilliard & Beasley, 2018; Eisman et al., 2016; Gutuskey et al., 2016).
Although students can feel empowered through self-advocacy on their own, working with
others leads to higher levels of interactional and behavioral psychological empowerment,
especially when students build supportive adult relationships, use social media for
mobilizing activities, and work to understand community issues (Ekström & Shehata,
2018; Hipolito-Delgado & Zion, 2017; Weybright et al., 2017; Zimmerman et al., 2018).
In short, psychological empowerment skill development aligned with my RQs because of
its connection to social and political engagement with current community issues.
In conclusion, researchers have studied teenagers and their use of social media for
information gathering, discussions, and mobilizing activities. Researchers have also
studied social media with adult students for political discourse. However, there was a gap
in the literature in terms of studies on social media and its connection to psychological
empowerment at the secondary level. In fact, researchers have not developed a complete
picture of the experiences of secondary educators who use social media to intentionally
provide their students with the skills needed to influence their psychological
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empowerment skills for greater social and political engagement. More research was
needed around secondary educator experiences with intentional skill development in the
areas of using social media to locate credible information, to establish a positive digital
footprint, to build relationships, to engage in meaningful political discourse, and to
advocate for community issues to bring about positive social change. Through my study,
I examined the gaps in the literature that exist at the intersection of psychological
empowerment and social media skills for educators. This gap was examined using a basic
qualitative study, and the research methods that I used are detailed in Chapter 3.
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Chapter 3: Research Method
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how secondary educators
describe their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological
empowerment skills. By examining the experiences of educators who use social media to
develop student skills, I was able to contribute knowledge to the gap in the field of
secondary learning and instruction regarding social media skills, psychological
empowerment, and digital citizenship.
Current research exists regarding social media and sociopolitical engagement of
young people. However, a gap in the literature exists regarding specific social media
teaching strategies that secondary educators use for psychological empowerment skill
development and sociopolitical engagement. Using social media effectively in a media-
saturated world is becoming an important skill for young people to become engaged
citizens.
This chapter includes a rationale for employing a basic qualitative approach to
explore how secondary educators describe their experiences with using social media to
influence students’ psychological empowerment skills. Additionally, this chapter
provides details about participant selection, data collection, and data analysis procedures.
This chapter concludes with a section on how I addressed issues of trustworthiness and
ethical procedures throughout my study.
Research Design and Rationale
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how secondary educators
describe their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological
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empowerment skills. The four RQs involved descriptions of experiences. Furthermore,
the principles of connectivism and psychological empowerment aligned with RQs for my
study. The principles of connectivism that related to my study are that people need an
understanding of diverse opinions and decision-making is part of learning. The principles
of interactional and behavioral psychological empowerment that relate to my study are
people can feel empowered when they understand community issues and proactively
work to solve them.
The RQs that were used in this study are:
RQ1: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to help
students understand current and local community issues?
RQ2: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to teach
students to discover diverse opinions about current and local social and political issues?
RQ3: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to teach
decision-making skills about current issues affecting students’ local communities?
RQ4: How do secondary educators describe their instruction to students in terms
of how to publish social media content to be proactive regarding current and local social
and political issues?
For my study, I selected a qualitative approach instead of quantitative or mixed
methods study. Quantitative approaches and mixed methods require numerical answers
(Creswell, 2013; Patton, 2015). Quantitative methods did not fit my study since I was not
seeking relationships between variables or concentrating on statistics. Mixed methods
also did not fit my study because that approach also has statistical and quantitative
75
components. Since my study did not have a quantitative component, I rejected both of
those approaches. Instead, in my study, I gathered detailed descriptions of social media
use and not numerical answers. Moreover, social media use in secondary education is an
emerging area of academic inquiry, and during my literature review, I did not find a
quantitative instrument for social media use to influence psychological empowerment in
an educational context. Therefore, I eliminated quantitative and mixed methods because
those approaches both require numerical data.
Besides eliminating quantitative and mixed methods approaches, I also considered
many other approaches using the qualitative framework like case study, systems theory,
auto-ethnography, narrative study, grounded theory, and phenomenology. After
consideration, I decided on the basic qualitative approach because that approach best
aligned with my RQs. I eliminated the case study, systems theory, narrative, and
autoethnography approaches because I was exploring experiences from a broad range of
educators. A case study analyzes one specific educational setting (Creswell, 2013; Patton,
2015; Percy et al., 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). In my study, I did not concentrate on one
educational setting, so I eliminated the case study design. I also eliminated the systems
theory approach because my RQs did not analyze systems in one specific organization
(see Patton, 2015). Likewise, I eliminated the narrative approach. Narrative qualitative
studies capture the experiences of just one person (Creswell, 2013; Patton, 2015; Ravitch
& Carl, 2021). In my study, I discovered a broad range of educator experiences involving
using social media with students, not just one educator’s experience. Additionally, since
an auto-ethnography approach captures the researcher’s personal experiences (Creswell,
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2013; Patton, 2015), I eliminated that approach because my study was not about my
personal experiences with secondary students and social media. Overall, I eliminated
approaches that had a narrow participant scope.
I also eliminated approaches that had broader aims when analyzing findings like
the grounded theory and phenomenological approaches. The grounded theory approach
involves developing a new educational theory (Creswell, 2013; Patton, 2015; Percy et al.,
2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). I eliminated the grounded theory approach since the
purpose of my study was to gain detailed descriptions of educator experiences, not
develop a new educational theory. Eliminating the phenomenological approach was more
difficult since my RQs seemed to point to studying the phenomenon of teaching social
media skills. However, phenomenological researchers address essence of experiences for
all participants while concentrating on details about a single concept (Creswell, 2013;
Patton, 2015; Percy et al., 2015). I was gathering information about multiple concepts in
my study and not aiming to arrive at the essence of experience for all participants. In
sum, I rejected other qualitative approaches and determined that the basic qualitative
approach best fit my RQs.
After due consideration, I selected a basic qualitative approach with semi-
structured interviews as the main method of data collection. The basic qualitative
approach is also known as generic qualitative research (Caelli et al., 2003; Kahlke,
2014;). The basic qualitative approach also directed the procedures of my study by
aligning interview questions to the study’s research questions and conceptual framework.
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I selected the basic qualitative approach because RQs in this approach explore
practical applications (Kahlke, 2014; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). Furthermore,
my RQs aligned well with the generic qualitative inquiry core question that asks: “What
are the practical consequences and useful applications of what we can learn about this
issue or problem?” (see Patton, 2015, p. 99). In my study, I sought a practical
understanding of educator experiences to inform the field of education and provide
pedagogical direction.
Additionally, RQs in basic qualitative studies are broad and involve
understanding broad ideas and in-depth participant experiences instead of generalizing
findings (Creswell, 2013; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 2015; Percy et al., 2015;
Ravitch & Carl, 2021). My RQs broadly explored how secondary educators describe their
experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills.
Moreover, the basic qualitative approach often involves in-depth interviews (Patton,
2015). I employed in-depth interviews as the main data collection tool in my study. For
these reasons, the basic qualitative approach best aligned with my RQs.
My selection of a basic qualitative approach was also influenced by a few studies
that I encountered during my literature review. Gutuskey et al.’s (2016) basic qualitative
study informed my research design selection because their study, like my study, involved
semi-structured interviews to explore educator experiences regarding teaching strategies
as well as psychological empowerment as a conceptual framework. In another basic
qualitative study, Mathé’ (2018) explored student perceptions about political participation
and citizenship using semi-structured interviews. Overall, my RQs about broad
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experiences aligned well with the basic qualitative approach that aims to discover
detailed descriptions to answer RQs.
Role of the Researcher
For this basic qualitative study, I functioned as the sole researcher. This role
involved interviewing study participants from my professional learning network who met
inclusion criteria. In my role as sole researcher, I selected the approach, designed the
study, determined data sources, developed procedures for recruitment, and created the
interview guide as my data collection instrument. In addition, I was responsible for all
data analysis and using strategies that improve the trustworthiness of this qualitative
study. Since qualitative studies also acknowledge the experience that interviewers bring
to the study (Caelli et al., 2003; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl,
2021), I made my experiences explicit in my procedures and methodology. For example,
as part of recruitment documents, I informed potential participants about my use of social
media with my high school English students. In addition, my role as researcher did not
conflict with any current paid position since I am a retired high school English educator.
Methodology
In this section, I explain the methodology of my study. I start by explaining the
logic behind participant selection and sampling strategies. I also discuss recruitment and
consent procedures. Then, I detail the interview protocol, data collection procedures, and
data analysis strategies that I employed in my study.
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Participant Selection
Participants in my study included 12 secondary educators who self-identified as
using social media with students. I used a purposeful sampling strategy to find secondary
educators who self-identified as using social media with students for instructional
purposes in the past 5 years. Ravitch and Carl (2021) defined a purposeful sampling
strategy as deliberately selecting participants who are knowledgeable about and have
specific experience with the topic being studied. A purposeful or purposive sampling
strategy is justified in qualitative studies to increase the transferability of findings and
study trustworthiness (Anney, 2014; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
Patton (2015) said purposeful sampling is appropriate when researchers select
participants who are information rich in terms of the topic central to the study. For these
reasons, a purposeful sampling strategy was justified for my basic qualitative study.
To ensure purposeful sampling, I identified potential participants based on
specific inclusion criteria. Participants self-identified that they were classroom educators,
instructional coaches, or media specialists who work directly or indirectly with students
in grades six to 12. Participants also self-identified that they had used social media with
secondary students at some point in the last 5 years in at least two ways related to my
RQs. I established these inclusion criteria because I wanted participants who had
experiences related to my RQs, and I wanted participants who had a variety of
perspectives (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021). My literature review revealed that educators
from a broad spectrum of curricular content areas such as history, physical education,
mathematics, and language arts used social media with secondary students. Therefore, I
80
included secondary educators who met inclusion criteria regardless of their content area.
During participant selection, I also asked participants how many years they had been
using social media with students so that I could compare perspectives regarding time
during data analysis for data triangulation (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Thurmond, 2001).
Participants who only worked with students younger than sixth grade or older than 12th
grade or who had not used social media with students in the past 5 years were excluded. I
felt that excluding educators who work with elementary students was appropriate and
justifiable since many social media platforms require users to be over 13 years old
(Herskovitz & Forkosh-Baruch, 2019).
Participants were identified during four phases of online recruitment that targeted
educators in my professional learning network and a university’s participant pool. I
shared an infographic with a link to a Google form if the potential participant was
interested in learning more about the study. Before they viewed the informed consent
form, they answered questions to determine if they met inclusion criteria for the study.
Those who stated they met the inclusion criteria then read the informed consent form, and
those who wanted to participate gave their implied consent by selecting “I consent” on
the Google form. I limited the number of participants to 12 since when using purposeful
sampling in a qualitative study that does not generalize findings, my set sample size was
sufficient to reach data saturation (see Guest et al., 2006; Patton, 2015; Percy, et al.,
2015; Sim et al., 2018).
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Instrumentation
I employed semi-structured interviews with an interview guide. The interview
guide approach for semi-structured interviews is an appropriate data collection method
for generic qualitative studies (Patton, 2015; Percy et al., 2015). I developed an interview
guide by following recommendations from qualitative research experts. Experts
recommend using open-ended questions and aligning questions to a conceptual
framework (Castillo-Montoya, 2016; Patton, 2015; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). I also
designed interview questions that involved neutral phrasing, and I began the protocol
with less controversial questions to help build rapport with interviewees (see Castillo-
Montoya, 2016; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). Additionally, expert qualitative researchers
recommend including main questions as well as probing follow-up questions on
interview guides (Castillo-Montoya, 2016; Patton, 2015; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). I
followed the advice of these expert qualitative researchers when developing my interview
guide. See Appendix A for the complete interview guide.
To ensure the content and rigor of interview questions, I aligned interview
questions to RQs and conceptual framework of my study. I included key concepts from
the RQs in either the main interview questions or follow-up prompts. The main concepts
that I included in my interview questions were terms related to my conceptual
framework: making online global connections, understanding diverse opinions,
understanding local issues, using decision-making as learning, and advocating for
sociopolitical issues. Researchers recommend creating a matrix to map interview
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questions with RQs to ensure alignment (Castillo-Montoya, 2016; Rubin & Rubin, 2012).
See Table 2 for the question alignment of my study.
To ensure that I had an appropriate interview protocol, I practiced the protocol on
two educators who were not part of my participant pool, and those data points were not
included in the final analysis. Using practice participants allows researchers to improve
their skills and instruments (Castillo-Montoya, 2016; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl,
2021).
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Table 2
Alignment of Questions with the Conceptual Framework
RQ
Interview Questions
Relationship to Conceptual
Framework
RQ1: How do secondary
educators describe their use
of social media to help
students understand current
and local community
issues?
1
2
3
5
Connectivism states knowledge
requires people understanding a
range of diverse opinions.
Interactional psychological
empowerment increases when
people understand community
issues.
RQ2: How do secondary
educators describe their use
of social media to teach
students to discover diverse
opinions about current and
local social and political
issues?
1
2
3
5
Connectivism states knowledge
requires people understanding a
range of diverse opinions.
Interactional psychological
empowerment increases when
people understand community
issues.
RQ3: How do secondary
educators describe their use
of social media to teach
decision-making skills
about current issues
affecting student’s local
communities?
1
2
3
5
Connectivism states decision-
making is learning but depends on
a person’s context in terms of time
and location. Interactional
psychological empowerment
increases when people understand
community issues.
RQ4: How do secondary
educators describe their
instruction to students in
terms of how to publish
social media content to be
proactive regarding current
and local social and
political issues?
1
4
5
Behavioral psychological
empowerment increases when
people proactively work to solve
community issues
Note. Principles of connectivism from Siemens (2005). Psychological empowerment
principles from Zimmerman (1995).
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Procedures
In this section, I explain the procedures for my study. I start by explaining the
procedures for online recruitment from my professional learning network and a
university’s participant pool. I also explain the procedures for participation. Then, I detail
the data collection procedures in my basic qualitative study.
Procedures for Recruitment
To ensure that I received the number of participants I needed, I developed four
phases of recruitment. For phase 1 of recruitment, I posted an infographic on my personal
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram social media pages to reach members of my
professional learning network. For phase 2, with the permission of the page moderators, I
shared the recruitment infographic on educator Facebook pages that are part of my
professional learning network. I asked these moderators to send me a direct message
saying that it was okay for me to post to their page. See Table 3 for a list of these
Facebook pages and the number of members. For phase 3 of recruitment, I had a
professional educator organization share my recruitment infographic on their electronic
newsletter. For phase 4 of recruitment, I shared my study information on a university’s
participant pool. I selected the first 12 people who self-identified as meeting the inclusion
criteria and who consented to participate. Once I had identified 12 participants, I replaced
the Google form recruitment link with a message that stated: “Thank you for your
interest, but I have filled all of the study participant spots.”
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Table 3
Professional Learning Network Facebook Groups
Facebook group name
Number of members on
1/25/2021 during recruitment
Teaching During COVID-19
137,400
Culturally Conscious Action Educators
7,000
National Network of State Teachers of the Year
1,100
In relation to recruitment, I posted my infographic on social media pages and an
organization’s newsletter to reach members of my professional learning network who
could be potential participants for my study. The recruitment information was also posted
on a university’s participant pool webpage. The recruitment documents included a link to
a Google form for potential participants to complete. The recruitment documents,
infographic, and Google form also informed participants that they would receive a $20
Amazon gift card for participating in the interview, even if they did not answer all the
questions. See Appendix B for the recruitment infographic.
The link on the recruitment posts directed potential participants to a Google form
with six sections. Sections 1, 2 and 3 asked screening questions where potential
participants self-identified if they met inclusion criteria. If individuals clicked on a form
response that indicated that they did not meet inclusion criteria, the form navigated the
individuals to an exit page thanking them for their time, and those non-qualifying
individuals never provided personal information. Section 4 of the Google form contained
the Letter of Consent for participants to learn more about participation in the study. The
letter of consent also included the Walden University IRB approval number of 12-18-20-
0453525. At the bottom of section 4, individuals were asked whether they wanted to
86
participate, and they were given directions on how to give digital consent. Section 5 of
the Google form captured demographic details and contact information to assist me in
setting up interviews. Section 6 was the exit page thanking them for their time. Since
recruitment occurred asynchronously, participants had adequate time to review the Letter
of Consent and ask questions before they gave electronic consent. The information from
the Google form of participants who were part of my study was saved on both my Google
Drive and my personal computer, both of which were secured with a password and
backed-up nightly at off-site facilities.
Procedures for Participation
In relation to participation, I conducted a series of procedures to make sure
participants were comfortable with the interview process. First, I sent participants a
follow-up email to confirm their interview time and preferred teleconferencing tool.
Second, if a participant volunteered information about their social media accounts on the
Google form, I reviewed participants’ latest social media posts as one way to build
rapport in the warm-up phase of the interview. As another way to build rapport, the
recruitment Google form included my social media handles so that participants could
explore those if they desired. Rubin and Rubin (2012) advise that learning about
participants before an interview helps to build a relationship.
Procedures for Data Collection
In relation to data collection, I conducted virtual interviews and kept a reflective
journal. For interviews, I used the telephone and Zoom, a teleconferencing tool. Even
though participants can more easily misrepresent their experience in online research
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(Chandler & Paolacci, 2017; Hydock, 2017), I opted for online videoconference
interviews as an inexpensive way to get a wide range of participants (see Ravitch & Carl,
2021). The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted my ability to conduct face-to-face
interviews. Virtual interviews on Zoom emerged as a common qualitative methodology
during the COVID-19 pandemic (Sha et al., 2020). Additionally, since my participants
would likely be spread throughout the United States, I eliminated focus groups as an
instrumentation technique to save extensive airfare and lodging costs to gather
participants together. Likewise, I eliminated observation techniques since those would
require extensive travel time and expense to collect data. The COVID-19 pandemic also
impacted my ability to travel, to conduct focus groups, and to observe face-to-face
classroom settings (see Sha et al., 2020). The data collection methods that I adopted at
my convenience provided me with sufficient data to answer my RQs.
In terms of interview data collection procedures, I used the interview protocol that
I developed (see Appendix A). I conducted virtual interviews via Zoom or telephone. The
method depended on the participants’ preferred platform so that participants might feel
more comfortable. During the interview, I made two audio recordings in case one piece
of technology failed. For the Zoom interviews, I used the Zoom audio recording feature
with a back-up recording on my cell phone. For the telephone interview, I used my
computer’s audio recording app and an external digital recorder. I kept interviews under
60 minutes to honor time commitments. I saved interview audio files on my home
computer and Google drive, which are both password-protected and backed-up nightly to
remote servers. I will delete these audio files in 5 years.
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My data collection procedures also included creating verbatim transcripts.
Verbatim transcription is the best way to capture interview data to analyze for patterns
and themes (Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Rubin & Rubin, 2012; Sutton & Austin,
2015). Shortly after each interview, I used Kaltura captioning software to begin the
transcription process. I then listened to the audio recording while comparing it to the
Kaltura transcription, editing as needed to ensure accurate, verbatim transcripts.
Additionally, researchers suggest that transcripts should be revised for punctuation,
spelling, and notation of garbled words (Rubin & Rubin, 2012; Sutton & Austin, 2015),
so I revised transcripts accordingly. I also redacted personal information such as
participant names, school, and social media accounts so that I did not compromise
confidentiality. In fact, I labeled participants with P1, for participant 1, P2, P3, and so on
to protect participant privacy. I saved the transcripts on my home computer and Google
drive, which are both password-protected and backed-up nightly to remote servers. I will
delete these transcripts in 5 years.
I also employed a participant validation strategy as a data confirmation procedure
to improve my study’s credibility. I emailed my participants their transcripts so that they
had an opportunity to review them and clarify their responses (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
The email informed participants that they had 10 days to review the transcript and let me
know if the transcript was an accurate representation of the interview or if any responses
needed clarifying. Six of the seven participants responded to my transcript review email.
Two said the transcript was okay as presented, and four indicated minor corrections. I
made those suggested revisions to the verbatim transcripts. This transcript review was
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justified because participant review helps establish credibility and reliability of data (see
Bashir et al., 2008; Caelli et al., 2003; Houghton et al., 2013; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
In addition to data collected from interviews, a second data source for this study
was my reflective journal entries and memos written after interviews. When researchers
compose memos about listening strategies, probing questions, body language, and
silences, then these memos can be part of data collection (Orange, 2016; Patton, 2015;
Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). During interviews, I took brief notes and
composed a memo about the interview shortly after the interview concluded. In addition
to interview memos, my reflective journal included entries about recruitment, collection,
and analysis decisions to help with my study’s confirmability and credibility (see Bashir
et al., 2008; Houghton et al., 2013; Orange, 2016; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
As needed, I shared journal entries with my committee for feedback. My researcher
journal helped ensure that participant experiences were described accurately. Overall, the
interview transcripts, participant validation strategy, and reflective memos were part of
my data collection and confirmation procedures.
Data Analysis Plan
For this basic qualitative study, I completed an iterative thematic pattern analysis
through constant comparison of verbatim transcripts after each interview. Since data
analysis in qualitative interview studies begins with careful verbatim transcription of
recorded interviews (Rubin & Rubin, 2012; Sutton & Austin, 2015), I created transcripts
by uploading the audio recording to Kaltura captioning software. Then I listened to the
audio recording and carefully proofread the transcript while also referring to my
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interview reflective memos to make sure that the transcript reflected any silences,
emotions, or body language that I noted during the interview. Additionally, constant
comparison allowed me to complete inductive analysis by analyzing data after each
interview and comparing the data to previously analyzed data in terms of emerging
themes (see Patton, 2015; Percy et al., 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). With constant
comparison, I was able to complete multiple levels of analysis, starting right after the first
interview (see Percy et al., 2015). Following the procedures of iterative coding, I
modified my codebook throughout the data analysis process to help me reduce a fixed
mindset (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
I conducted iterative, constant comparison data analysis at three levels. At the first
level, I reviewed the verbatim transcripts using inductive coding, also known as open
coding. Open coding uses inductive reasoning to discover patterns and themes without
trying to organize data into already established categories (Patton, 2015; Percy et al.,
2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Rubin & Rubin, 2012; Sutton & Austin, 2015). During the
first level of data analysis, I used Dedoose, a qualitative data management program, to
organize my data and create a codebook. Researchers suggest that creating a codebook
early in data analysis improves a study’s credibility (Patton, 2015; Rubin & Rubin, 2012;
Smith & Firth, 2011). Therefore, I created a codebook with the following three
components: (a) code names; (b) detailed definitions of the code including key words,
synonyms, inclusion criteria, and exclusion criteria; and (c) an illustrative example of a
data text segment from an interview response (see DeCuir-Gunby et al., 2011). Overall,
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using a codebook and the iterative process of open coding allowed me to capture text
segments and ideas that were related to my RQs and conceptual framework.
In addition to beginning to see broad themes when developing the codebook, I
began capturing illuminating text segments to serve as thick description for data analysis.
Since capturing clarifying examples, or a notable quotes collection, is a first step in
building potential data for thick description (Rubin & Rubin, 2012), I used a code called
“good quotes” throughout the coding process. Throughout data analysis I continued to
capture thick descriptions, which is an important part of data analysis and findings in
qualitative studies (see Jorgensen, 2009; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). Since thick
description provides “layer upon layer of meaning” to “get beyond superficial
description” in qualitative studies (Jorgensen, 2009, p. 70), I was sure to capture thick
description at all levels of data analysis so that I had ample data to report in my findings.
When reporting thick descriptions, I provided researcher and participant context so that I
was including faithful narratives while working toward shared yet nuanced
understandings in my findings (see Jorgensen, 2009).
At the second level of data analysis, I examined the data for patterns, which is
known as a cross-case thematic analysis. The definition of cross-case thematic analysis is
when a qualitative researcher discovers common themes while maintaining the integrity
of individual cases and interview responses (Patton, 2015; Rubin & Rubin, 2012).
Furthermore, a cross-case analysis involves analyzing the data to identify initial themes
and codes before synthesizing ideas to get connections between themes (Smith & Firth,
2011). Those initial themes and codes were developed during the first level of analysis.
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Using Dedoose to help manage data, I completed the cross-case thematic analysis by
reading the data multiple times and attaching code tags to relevant text segments. Starting
to see patterns in this inductive process helped me discover themes in terms of similar
actions, perceptions, and experiences (see Patton, 2015; Sutton & Austin, 2015). Using a
qualitative data management program helped me analyze my data while keeping human
critical thought at the forefront of my analysis.
At the third level of data analysis, I compared participant perspectives in terms of
number of years using social media with students for data triangulation. Data
triangulation is an important part of qualitative studies to improve credibility and reduce
bias (Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Thurmond, 2001). For my study, data
triangulation occurred during data analysis by comparing perspectives regarding time
using social media (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Thurmond, 2001). Ravitch and Carl (2021)
define comparison data triangulation as “within-methods triangulation” where researchers
use just one method, like interviews, but have “different comparison groups in the
interviews” (p. 174). In my study, data comparison occurred as a third level of data
analysis to determine broad themes for educators who are relatively new to using social
media with students compared to educators who are more experienced with using social
media with students. For within-methods triangulation, I compared data from three
participants who had used social media with students for over 10 years with four
participants who had used social media with students for under 5 years. This comparative
analysis was important to data triangulation in my study.
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Part of a data analysis plan is knowing how to treat discrepant data. Discrepant
data are ideas that do not fit a researcher’s “current understanding of the data” (Ravitch &
Carl, 2021, p. 285). Analyzing and reporting discrepant data strengthened the validity of
my findings by challenging my preconceived notions to increase the reliability of the
study, allowing me to present a broad range of participant experiences (see Bashir et al.,
2008; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). Moreover, thick descriptions from outlier participants
provided me with a way to be meticulous and faithful when reporting my findings (see
Jorgensen, 2009). Overall, my systematic data analysis was part of my efforts to ensure
the trustworthiness of my study.
Issues of Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is important to qualitative research to bring credibility,
transferability, dependability, and confirmability to research findings. Trustworthiness
occurs when a researcher uses rigorous methodology (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton,
2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). During my study, I implemented a rigorous methodology to
improve the trustworthiness of my study, including paying careful attention to ethical
procedures. These trustworthiness practices are explained in this section.
Credibility
For qualitative research, Lincoln and Guba (1985) define credibility as truth,
accuracy, and the believability of findings. The first step to achieving a credible study
begins with the alignment of RQs to study design, data triangulation, and careful
procedures from data collection to analysis (Houghton et al., 2013; Lincoln & Guba,
1985; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). To improve credibility, I followed careful
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procedures at each step of the research process (see Bashir et al., 2008; Carlson, 2010;
Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). In terms of data collection, I
used a set interview protocol where each participant was asked the same questions to
yield more credible results (see Patton, 2015). During interviews I also used probing
questions as checks for candor and honesty to make sure that I was collecting credible
data (see Rubin & Rubin, 2012). I also employed audio recordings, verbatim
transcription, and a participant validation strategy to increase data credibility. After each
interview, I composed a memo where I reflected on my communication style and
participant engagement as another way to improve credibility (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
I also used participant transcript review to confirm the data by sending the verbatim
transcripts to participants so that they could clarify responses. During transcript review, I
worked to avoid one common problem. Sometimes interviewees change the transcript so
much that the data change, which can be a problem in iterative analysis like in my study
(see Carlson, 2010). Therefore, when I ended each interview and in the transcript review
email, I told participants that they should simply clarify responses and not make
substantive changes to the transcript (see Carlson, 2010).
Credibility is also improved through careful data analysis. For example, constant
comparison helps a qualitative researcher maintain consistent codes to increase credibility
(Patton, 2015). For this study, I created a codebook and engaged in constant comparison
by analyzing data after each interview. I also used thick descriptions and non-judgmental
presentation of findings to improve credibility (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021). Additionally, I
compared participant descriptions based on years using social media with students for
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within-methods data triangulation (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Thurmond, 2001). I also
improved credibility by examining negative cases, which can provide insights into
different directions of data analysis (see Patton, 2015). Negative case analysis shows that
the researcher did not just look for data to confirm certain assumptions, but instead
searched for multiple perspectives (Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). During data
analysis, I made sure to examine the areas where participants shared discrepant ideas as
one way to confirm my findings. In sum, to improve my study’s credibility, I employed
set data collection methods and a data analysis plan that included a codebook, constant
comparison, within-methods data triangulation, and discrepant data.
Transferability
Ravitch and Carl (2021) define transferability as the ways qualitative studies are
transferable to “broader contexts while still maintaining their context-specific richness”
(p. 168). In qualitative studies, the transferability of findings becomes more trustworthy
with purposeful sampling (Anney, 2014) and inductive coding for analysis (Lincoln &
Guba, 1985). In my study, I used purposeful sampling to identify 12 participants, and I
used inductive coding during data analysis. Transferability also improves when
researchers include thick descriptions to support themes and describe participants’
contexts (Anney, 2014; Houghton et al., 2013; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Ravitch & Carl,
2021). In the data analysis and findings report for my study, I included thick descriptions
so that my readers could decide on the transferability of my study to their context. In my
study’s final report, I also include information about me, the researcher, so that readers
can better determine that contextual part of the study for transferability (see Patton,
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2015). Furthermore, since researchers should not generalize findings for transferability in
qualitative studies (Anney, 2014), I state “lessons learned” instead of conclusions when
reporting my findings (see Patton, 2015, p. 714). Overall, in terms of transferability, I
made sure that my conclusions were modest and that I did not generalize findings (see
Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
Dependability
Patton (2015) defines dependability as stability or “a systematic process
systematically followed” (p. 684). In other words, the dependability of a study begins
with a systematic, reasoned design and alignment of methods to the study’s RQs (Lincoln
& Guba, 1985; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). In my study, I aligned the chosen approach, data
collection, and analysis procedures to my RQs. For example, the interview questions
were aligned to the study’s RQs and conceptual framework to improve the dependability
of my study. In addition, the dependability of findings can be ensured with proper coding
techniques and an audit trail of raw data and interview notes (Anney, 2014; Houghton et
al., 2013). For example, qualitative researchers can code and then re-code data to check
agreement (Anney, 2014; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). During data collection and analysis, I
followed these dependable techniques and kept reflexive memos about interviews,
coding, and analysis. I also used Dedoose, a qualitative data management program, to
keep track of analysis decisions (see Houghton et al., 2013). I also developed a codebook
and employed three levels of inductive coding as part of my dependability strategies.
Overall, these aligned and reasoned strategies impacted the dependability of my study.
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Confirmability
Houghton et al. (2013) define confirmability as data accuracy. To ensure rigor in
terms of confirmability, qualitative researchers need to engage in reflexivity and keep an
audit trail (Houghton et al., 2013; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Orange, 2016). Confirmability
also requires researchers to reduce their bias and make sure that biases do not affect the
interpretation of the data (Ravitch & Carl, 2021). I engaged in reflexivity during data
collection and analysis to reduce researcher bias (see Orange, 2016; Ravitch & Carl,
2021). For example, I employed participant review of transcripts for confirmability of
data. I also kept an audit trail of all steps from recruitment to data collection to data
analysis by writing reflexive memos. For example, I compared the transcripts to the audio
recordings to make sure that transcripts were accurate, and I noted any inaudible sections.
My reflexive interview memos were also part of transcript review. In addition,
confirmability requires that interpretations be supported by data (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
In my research report, I support my data interpretations with specific data and thick
description. Engaging in these procedures improved the confirmability of my study.
Ethical Procedures
The trustworthiness of qualitative research also depends on the steps that
researchers take to follow ethical procedures (Kahlke, 2014; Patton, 2015). For this study,
I followed the guidelines set forth by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). I made sure
to follow proper recruitment and informed consent processes (see Patton, 2015). My
letter of consent included all IRB requirements such as the nature of risks and privacy
concerns. During data collection, I reminded participants that they were being recorded
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(see Rubin & Rubin, 2012). I also followed IRB guidelines about where and for how long
data are stored and who has access to data to protect the confidentiality of my participants
(see Patton, 2015). The IRB approved my research procedures and assigned my study the
approval number of 12-18-20-0453525. As much as possible, my dissertation committee
faculty members did not know the identity of my participants. Identifying information
was also removed from my research report to protect participant confidentiality.
Additionally, the interview transcripts and recordings will be deleted after 5 years.
Furthermore, I honored the agreed-upon commitments with my participants (see Patton,
2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). Specifically, I kept interviews to the agreed-upon
timeframe of 45 to 60 minutes, and I promptly emailed my participants their digital $20
Amazon gift card as a thank you. Overall, I was transparent with my participants at all
steps of the research process and followed IRB ethical guidelines (see Patton, 2015;
Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
Summary
In Chapter 3 I have explained the details of my study’s methodology and rationale
for my choices. First, I reasoned that the basic qualitative approach best aligned with my
RQs and conceptual framework because I explored a broad range of experiences
regarding the relatively new phenomenon of educators using social media with students
for psychological empowerment skill development. Second, this chapter outlined my
participation selection logic, sampling size, and recruitment procedures. Third, I
explained how the interview protocol was an appropriate data collection instrument to
gain insights into a broad range of educator experiences. Fourth, I discussed how a basic
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qualitative study about a new phenomenon aligned with inductive coding so that
preconceived notions and researcher bias did not influence data analysis. Finally, I
discussed how my methodology selections improved the trustworthiness and ethical
nature of my study.
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Chapter 4: Results
Introduction
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how secondary educators
describe their experiences when using social media to influence students’ psychological
empowerment skills. To accomplish this purpose, I employed a basic qualitative
approach using interviews as my main data collection tool with interview questions
aligned with my four RQs.
RQ1: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to help
students understand current and local community issues?
RQ2: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to teach
students to discover diverse opinions about current and local social and political issues?
RQ3: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to teach
decision-making skills about current issues affecting students’ local communities?
RQ4: How do secondary educators describe their instruction to students in terms
of how to publish social media content to be proactive regarding current and local social
and political issues?
These RQs allowed me to explore a range of ideas that secondary educators expressed
about their use of social media for student skill development in the areas of understanding
issues and using social media as a tool to advocate for social change.
In this chapter, I report the results of my basic qualitative study. Chapter 4
includes a description of my study’s setting and demographics of participants. In
addition, this chapter details procedures that I implemented for data collection, data
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analysis, and trustworthiness during all steps of the study from recruitment to reporting of
findings. Chapter 4 ends with a detailed description of the results of my qualitative study.
Setting
Data for this basic qualitative study were not gathered from one specific setting
since interviews were conducted virtually with participants from a variety of settings. My
online professional learning network was used for recruitment and the unifying factor for
participants in this study. Three participants were identified through my social media,
four from an electronic newsletter distributed by a national educator organization, and
five from a university’s participant pool. Additionally, participants completed virtual
interviews in personal settings of their choosing and selected their preferred technology.
Eleven participants elected to complete interviews via Zoom teleconferencing software,
and one participant opted to complete the interview via telephone.
Several organizational conditions may have influenced the interpretation of study
results. Four participants indicated that they had their social media practices questioned
in some way by school district stakeholders, mostly parents and administrators. Even so,
these participants were candid in their interview responses, so I do not believe that
stakeholder criticisms impacted their responses. This information about their school
setting was volunteered during interviews and not part of any inclusion criteria for my
study. This specific school setting information is included to provide a better
understanding of the context for participant experiences.
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Demographics
Participants in this study included seven secondary educators who completed
virtual interviews at locations chosen by them. I originally planned to have 12
participants. However, during the data collection phase of my study, I eliminated
interview data from five of the 12 original participants for reasons that will be explained
in the “unusual circumstances” section. In this section, I will provide details about the
seven participants who remained in my study.
All seven participants for my study were classroom teachers, and their teaching
experience ranged from 8 to 32 years. Participants’ use of social media with students
ranged from 2 to 23 years. Geographically, participants all taught in the United States
with locations ranging from East Coast to Midwest to West Coast. At the time of data
collection, five of the seven participants were teaching at the high school level, one at the
middle school level, and one at both secondary levels. Since the gender of participants
was not relevant to my data analysis and some participants are well known on social
media, I use the singular “they” when discussing participants to ensure identity
confidentiality. Additionally, all seven participants discussed student lessons in the
context of student work with reading, writing, research, and other communication areas.
Courses that participants discussed were filmmaking, communications technology, school
publications, media studies, English Language Arts (ELA), and English language
development. Although participants often discussed social media in a general sense, the
social media platforms the educators discussed specifically can be found in Table 4
which also lists specific information on participant demographics.
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Table 4
Participant Demographics
Participant
Years
teaching
experience
Years using
social media
with students
Teaching context
Social media
platforms
mentioned
P1
32
23
High school
multimedia
Ning, YouTube,
Twitter, Periscope,
Blogs
P2
18
12
Middle and high
school multi-
disciplinary
Twitter, YouTube,
Facebook, Sway,
LinkedIn, Blogs
P3
24
10
High school
Communications
Technology
Weebly, Twitter,
TikTok, YouTube
P4
13
10
High school ELA,
humanities
Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram
P5
26
2
Middle and high
school English
Language
Development &
service learning
Facebook,
Instagram
P6
8
7
High school ELA &
publications
Instagram, Twitter,
TikTok, YouTube
P7
14
5
High school ELA
Twitter, blogs,
LinkedIn
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P1 had been teaching for 32 years and was teaching at a public high school in the
Midwest at the time of data collection. P1 stated that they may have been one of the first
educators in the United States to begin using social media with students, starting with
using Ning in 1998. P1 taught multimedia courses that focused on innovation, creativity,
filmmaking, collaboration, personalized learning, and digital storytelling. P1 discussed
lessons that provided students with opportunities for making global connections through
social media.
P2 had been teaching for 18 years, serving as an educator at a variety of grade
levels from preschool to high school. Since 2009, P2 had been working with middle and
high school students, concentrating on innovative uses of technology in the classroom.
P2’s interview responses focused on experiences teaching at a private secondary school
in the Western United States. P2 discussed using multiple social media platforms so that
students could make connections with others around the world.
P3 came to education as a second career, working in journalism prior to teaching.
P3 had been teaching for 24 years with the last 10 years at a high school in the Eastern
United States. Prior to teaching high school, P3 taught at the middle school and college
level. In fact, P3 was teaching at both the high school and college levels at the time of
their interview. P3’s interview responses focused on teaching 8 levels of communications
technology courses. The senior levels of courses were independent study courses,
allowing for seniors to personalize their learning and leave high school with a Weebly
portfolio that showcased their high school communications work.
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Education was a second career for P4, coming to education from the arts. Because
of their background in the arts, P4 integrated art in the classroom when possible. At the
time of data collection, P4 had been teaching for 13 years. Although P4 used social media
as part of instruction early in their career, they had recently rejected social media because
of political polarization and the fact that young people preferred platforms that P4 did not
find successful for classroom applications. P4 also discussed the voluntary nature of
social media in the classroom and how students could opt to turn in paper simulations of
tweets or other social media posts.
At the time of data collection, P5 had been teaching for 26 years and was working
with seventh and eighth graders on English language development. P5 was a classroom
teacher at a public middle school in the Western United States and had been in that
position for 5 years. Most of P5’s middle school students had been living in the United
States for about a year and were reading at the first or second grade level. P5 had been
using social media with students for the past 2 years. During the interview, P5 also
discussed the use of social media with students as a service-learning adviser. P5’s student
voice and advocacy responses centered around service-learning work with students.
P6 had been teaching at a midwestern high school for 7 years, using social media
with students since starting at that high school. During the interview, P6 mentioned some
social media uses as part of lessons in their ELA classes, but mainly discussed social
media lessons with students as part of instruction with high school journalists. P6 was the
advisor of their school’s student newspaper and yearbook. Both of those credit-bearing
courses have an online and social media presence.
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At the time of the interview, P7 had been teaching ELA for 5 years at a
midwestern high school, having previously taught for 9 years in Texas. P7 began using
social media with students when they began teaching at the midwestern high school.
Although P7 occasionally discussed social media uses with ninth and tenth grade students
in ELA courses, P7’s interview responses centered around a senior elective course called
mass media. P7 shared detailed lessons about the mass media course, even dropping
social media lesson plan documents in the chat during the Zoom interview.
The seven participants in my study provided ample information for me to reach
data saturation and answer my RQs. More information about the length of interviews and
the depth of thick descriptions provided through participant responses will be discussed
in the “Data Collection” section.
Data Collection
I received IRB approval on December 18, 2020 and began data collection soon
after. For this basic qualitative study, I collected data from two sources—interviews and
my reflexive journal entries. Data collection procedures also included participant
transcript reviews to confirm data. My second data source, reflexive journals, were an
important data source to ensure the credibility of my data. Unless noted, data were
collected as described in Chapter 3. During data collection, I did encounter some unusual
circumstances, which I detail in the “unusual circumstances” section.
Interviews
One data source for my study were virtual interviews. I conducted a total of seven
virtual interviews with six completed in Zoom and one over the telephone. I used the
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interview protocol described in Chapter 3 and Appendix A. I audio recorded interviews in
two ways to ensure that I had backup recordings in case technology failed. For Zoom
interviews, I used the Zoom record feature to capture audio recording and the Voice
Memos app on my cell phone as a backup recording. For the phone interview, I used a
voice recording app on my computer and an external digital recorder. I needed to modify
recording procedures for the phone interview since the Voice Memos app on my cell
phone did not allow me to record a phone call in progress.
I completed the seven interviews over a 1-month period. Interviews lasted
between 40 and 60 minutes, with five of the interviews lasting the entire 60 minutes,
which was the maximum length that I had set with participants during recruitment. My
last interview question was an open prompt asking participants to share any last thoughts
that they had about students and social media. Before that last interview question, I
informed participants how much time was remaining in their 60 minutes so that I could
be respectful of their time. See Table 5 for the interview logistics regarding date, length,
method, and transcript review.
To support responses during interviews, all seven participants shared some
supporting documents with me. Although my methodology did not include document
analysis as part of data collection, these documents were volunteered by participants to
support their interview responses. When reporting findings about these documents, I only
included information from these documents if information provided in the document had
a direct connection to something in the verbatim transcript. In my reporting of results, I
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clearly indicated how participants referred to documents in interviews to find more
information via supporting documents, links, or social media accounts (see Table 6).
Table 5
Interview Logistics
Participant
Interview
date
Interview
length in
minutes
Technology
method
Transcript
emailed for
review
Transcript
returned after
review
P1
1/15/2021
60
Zoom
1/23/2021
1/23/2021
P2
1/24/2021
60
Zoom
1/30/2021
1/30/2021
P3
1/29/201
60
Zoom
2/2/2021
2/3/2021
P4
1/29/2021
50
Zoom
2/4/2021
2/8/2021
P5
1/30/2021
39
Cell phone
2/5/2021
No response
P6
2/3/2021
60
Zoom
2/9/2021
2/12/2021
P7
2/10/2021
41
Zoom
2/15/2021
2/17/2021
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Table 6
Documents Voluntarily Shared by Participants
Participant
Documents voluntarily
shared
Information from demographic questionnaire
or verbatim transcript
P1
Twitter account
Twitter shared on demographic questionnaire.
P2
Facebook page; articles;
links to student work
A former professor “sent me a document -- I'll
send it to you – because it might be relevant.”
“I'll collect and send to you” examples of
student work for a positive digital footprint.
P3
Twitter account; course
website with links to
student digital portfolios
Twitter account name shared on demographic
questionnaire.
“Click on any of those kids” on the website
name shared to investigate examples of
student publishing and voice.
P4
Twitter account
Twitter shared on demographic questionnaire.
P5
Facebook & Instagram
accounts
Examples of students posting about their
service-learning experiences are “on our
Facebook page.”
Go to Instagram and look up XXX. “There’s
just probably a few posts there.”
P6
Facebook & Instagram
accounts
During interview, spelled out Instagram and
Twitter accounts for teacher account and two
publication accounts for me to review.
P7
Google docs with lesson
plans shared in Zoom
chat.
“Is there somewhere I can share [the lesson
plan] with you? Do we have a chat?”
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To prepare interview data for the data analysis phase, I transcribed the audio
recordings to make written and verbatim transcripts. To create transcripts, I first uploaded
audio files to Kaltura software and made a caption request. Then I copied the Kaltura
captions to Microsoft Word. I then listened to the audio recordings and revised the
transcripts in Microsoft Word, adding punctuation and revising as necessary to arrive at
an accurate verbatim transcript. Part of my revision process involved redacting any
personal information from the transcripts that could identify my participants. I then
emailed the verbatim transcripts to participants to review for accuracy as I described in
the transcript review procedures of Chapter 3. Six of seven participants replied to the
transcript review email. Of the six who responded to the transcript review request, three
participants had minor changes, and three reported that the transcript looked okay as is.
After revising the transcript to reflect the minor revisions from my participants, I
uploaded the Microsoft Word file to Dedoose software in preparation for coding.
Reflective Journals
Reflective journals were an essential part of my data collection, and I kept two
types of journals. I kept a handwritten journal where I recorded my thoughts and actions
during recruitment and data collection. I also completed typed reflective journal entries
immediately following the interviews. I composed these post-interview reflective journals
in Microsoft Word. These entries included interview logistics including length and
unusual circumstances, world events occurring in social media at the time of the
interview, my first impressions of main ideas presented in the interview, and my first
impressions of codes. I shared my first reflective journal with my dissertation committee
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for feedback on format and depth of thought so that my subsequent journal entries would
provide me with rich data. I prepared the reflective journal data for analysis by reviewing
my handwritten thoughts to type up those that would be relevant for my final report or to
share with my dissertation committee. During data collection and analysis, I continued to
refer to these entries.
Unusual Circumstances
One of my methodological assumptions was that participants would be honest
during interviews. I also knew that a limitation of my study was the impostor potential of
online research where a participant might exaggerate their experience to receive
compensation as a research participant (see Chandler & Paolacci, 2017; Hydock, 2017).
However, an unusual circumstance occurred during data collection. After my fifth
interview, I shared a lengthy reflective journal with my committee outlining my suspicion
that three of the five participants already interviewed were frauds since I noticed patterns
in interview logistics and inconsistent responses on both the demographic questionnaire
and in their interviews. When I designed my study, I had not anticipated the extent of
participant fraud that could occur with Zoom interviews. I suspected that since Zoom had
emerged as a commonly used piece of technology during the COVID-19 pandemic,
imposter participants could be emerging as an even greater limitation to my qualitative
study than I had anticipated. I even suspected that participants could be creating a fake
persona and were not even educators who used social media with students. Creating a
fake online persona is known as catfishing, which Nolan (2015) defines as "the current
internet trend of creating and portraying complex fictional identities through online
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profiles" (p. 54). Therefore, I shared my “catfish” suspicions with my dissertation
committee in a reflexive journal and asked for their advice on how to proceed.
My reflexive journal detailed my suspicions that imposters were completing
interviews to receive the $20 Amazon gift card. My suspicions were based on the
following patterns for my first three suspected imposters: 1) cameras were off during the
three Zoom interviews; 2) the three phone numbers shared were Google voice accounts;
3) a baby was crying in the background of all three interviews; 4) all three interviews
were completed at 9:00 a.m. Eastern U.S. time as requested by the participant; and 5) all
three verbatim transcripts contained inconsistencies that brought the truthfulness of their
responses into question. For example, sometimes an interview response directly
contracted a response on the inclusion criteria Google form. One participant had
indicated on the inclusion Google form that they taught lessons on posting social media
content about social and political issues. However, during the interview when asked this
question again, they responded: “We never posted.” At other times, suspected imposters
contradicted statements made earlier in the interview. For example, one participant
detailed a lesson about the presidential inauguration that students completed in class, but
later in the interview stated they were on maternity leave and not currently teaching.
When probed about this contradiction, the participant admitted to providing hypothetical
situations to interview questions. I discussed my reflexive journal and these
contradictions and interview patterns with my dissertation committee.
My dissertation committee reminded me that qualitative methodology allows for a
change in procedures and taking a “real-time approach” to methods adaptation when
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study design issues arise (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021, p. 228). Therefore, under
consultation with my committee, I decided to change my procedures to make sure that I
only included trustworthy data in my study. On subsequent interviews I asked even more
probing questions to check for “candor and consistency” (see Rubin & Rubin, 2012, p.
60). I also filed and was granted a “change in procedures” with IRB to require
participants to share social media account information to verify their identity.
Before receiving an IRB “change in procedures” approval, I completed another
suspect interview. This participant entered the Zoom room under a future participant’s
name. When questioned about the Zoom name, the participant said that they were “using
their cousin’s computer.” This irregularity was further confirmation of my suspicion that
the same person might be completing multiple interviews to receive multiple $20
Amazon gift cards. I completed this interview and sent them the $20 Amazon gift card.
However, since by this time I had been granted IRB permission to require information
from participants to verify their identity, I emailed the upcoming “cousin” participant to
ask for social media account information or other online documents to verify that they
met my study’s inclusion criteria before they completed the interview. The email to “the
cousin” participant went unanswered for 5 days, so I canceled that interview.
I ultimately decided to eliminate data from participants that I could not
completely trust. I was able to verify that seven participants were candid, consistent, and
trustworthy in their responses. I could verify that these seven met the inclusion criteria
for my study through a review of their social media accounts and other documents that
they volunteered during their interviews. I also did not find any contradictions in the
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interview responses of these seven participants. Furthermore, since I had achieved data
saturation with these seven candid participants, my committee agreed that a new round of
participant recruitment and interviews to replace the five eliminated participants was not
necessary. One reason that I was able to reach data saturation with the seven remaining
participants was that all seven of these participants voluntarily provided supporting
evidence of their work with social media in educational contexts. These seven
participants shared with me social media accounts, lesson plans, articles, and links to
public student work that showcased social media uses with students. These seven
trustworthy participants were the only ones who ultimately provided data to be analyzed
in my study.
Data Analysis
I used thematic analysis for my study, which Percy et al. (2015) recommend for a
basic, or generic, qualitative study. To arrive at themes, I used iterative, open coding and
constant comparison of participants, which Ravitch and Carl (2021) recommend for basic
qualitative research. I conducted data analysis at three levels—individual case, participant
comparison, and within-methods data triangulation. See Figure 1 for a graphic
representation of my three levels of data analysis.
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Figure 1
Three Levels of Data Analysis
During the first level of individual case data analysis, I did not try to fit each
participant’s data into already established categories (see Patton, 2015; Percy et al., 2015;
Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Rubin & Rubin, 2012; Sutton & Austin, 2015). Instead, I analyzed
each participant separately. This individual case level of analysis began immediately
following interviews when I wrote reflexive journal entries with my first impressions of
participants’ ideas and possible codes. I referred to my journal entries throughout data
analysis. I then created verbatim transcripts and sent those to participants for validation as
described in Chapter 3. Verified, verbatim transcripts were uploaded to Dedoose. I then
coded individual case transcripts in Dedoose.
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To aid in the coding process, I developed a codebook with three components,
code name, description, and excerpt example, as described by DeCuir-Gunby et al.
(2011). I updated my codebook throughout the coding process. Early in the coding
process I set up a code for each of my four RQs to align my data analysis to my RQs.
During codebook revision, I also merged codes when further analysis revealed that codes
were closely connected. Additionally, I merged child codes directly into their parent code
when the child code had fewer than five excerpts. See Figure 2 for a hierarchical code
tree that shows parent and child codes as well as former codes that were merged. See
Appendix C for an alphabetical listing of the 14 codes in my final codebook. The
description column of Appendix C contains information about inclusion criteria.
Exclusion criteria for all codes included ideas that did not relate to social media uses for
student empowerment.
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Figure 2
Hierarchical Code Tree for Final Codebook
At the second level of data analysis, I used cross-case thematic analysis to
discover common themes while maintaining the integrity of individual cases and
interview responses (see Patton, 2015; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). At this level of analysis, I
read the transcripts again and began comparing participant responses to discover common
themes. I also continued to revise my codebook and merge codes as connections between
ideas emerged. Continual codebook revision at the second level of data analysis yielded a
total of 14 codes. After my codebook was finalized, I reviewed all coded excerpts again
to verify that they still met my inclusion and exclusion criteria and added and removed
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tags as appropriate. Using a codebook and reviewing the transcript code tags increased
my confidence in my data and the credibility of my study (see DeCuir-Gunby et al.,
2011; Patton, 2015; Rubin & Rubin, 2012; Smith & Firth, 2011).
At the second level of data analysis, cross-case thematic analysis allowed me to
compare participant responses to determine themes related to similar actions, perceptions,
and experiences of educators using social media for student empowerment (see Patton,
2015; Sutton & Austin, 2015). I analyzed the data to discover the most prevalent
connections between codes to arrive at themes. I was aided in my thinking during this
level of analysis by the code co-occurrence chart in Dedoose. The code co-occurrence
data analysis chart was “a useful feature” that allowed me to see how “frequently the
same codes are applied to the same data excerpt” (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021, p. 279).
Figure 3 shows the code co-occurrence chart that was created from my data. The
overlapping codes impacted my thinking about themes. After analyzing code co-
occurrence, I reviewed transcripts again to make sure that I did not miss any excerpts that
fit the code co-occurrences. I ended up removing and adding code tags as appropriate to
arrive at the final code co-occurrence chart.
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Figure 3
Code Co-occurrence Data Analysis Chart
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At the third level of data analysis, I completed within-methods data triangulation
by comparing common themes of experienced participants to less experienced
participants. Within-methods triangulation is appropriate for qualitative studies that use
interviews as the main data collection tool (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Thurmond, 2001).
I analyzed how data from three participants who had used social media with students for
over 10 years compared to data from four participants who had used social media with
students for under 10 years. My first look at this data was the Dedoose code presence
chart that allowed me to see if any participants did not discuss certain codes. I noticed
that the citizenship skills code had the most gaps, and those skills were more common for
experienced participants. See Figure 4 for the code presence chart.
Figure 4
Code Presence Data Analysis Chart
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Although examining Dedoose charts provided one way to look at data patterns
and emerging themes, Dedoose could not replace my critical thinking as a researcher.
Therefore, to facilitate my analysis and make my thinking explicit for within-methods
data triangulation, I created a double bubble thinking map to compare and contrast the
two sets of participants (see Hyerle & Yaeger, 2007). Using a double bubble map instead
of a Venn Diagram allowed me to capture each similarity and difference in its own
bubble, and this allowed me to see distinct themes between experience levels (see Hyerle
& Yaeger, 2007). See Figure 5 for the double bubble map. Overall, within-methods data
triangulation allowed me to improve the credibility of my qualitative study.
Figure 5
Double Bubble Map Comparing Educators by Experience
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After completing three levels of data analysis, I organized codes into themes—
one for each RQ of this study. Codes are included for themes when transcript data from 5
of 7, or 71%, of participants appeared at the intersection of the theme and code. Table 7
includes a summary of themes, their most relevant codes, and a sample quotation.
Discrepant data do not fit a researcher’s “current understanding of the data”
(Ravitch & Carl, 2021, p. 285). I included discrepant data to strengthen the validity of my
findings by presenting a broad range of participant experiences (see Bashir et al., 2008;
Ravitch & Carl, 2021). Although discrepant data were considered throughout analysis, I
was sure to include data from two participants who had previously used social media with
students but were now skeptical about using it. P4 had quit using social media with
students because they had “turned on social media personally.” P7 rarely used social
media since they were “silenced” by school administration. Overall, discrepant data
allowed me to arrive at a broad range of educator experiences.
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Table 7
Summary of Research Question Themes
RQ
Themes
Codes
Sample quotations
1
Understand
issues
Diverse opinions
Credible information
Efficacy
P7: “The nature of the student
now is you are attached to that
phone at all times. By default,
they're getting news on social
media platforms…They read
something, and this is fact.”
2
Diverse opinions
Decision-making
Credible information
P2: “If you have access to people
on social media … then you can
go to someone who has expertise
in that area and ask multiple
people.”
3
Decision-making
Understand issues
Credible information
P3: “We talk about in news, you
have to make a decision: just
because you can, doesn't mean
you should.”
4
Student voice
Efficacy
Digital writing
Connections
Stakeholders
Evolution of pedagogy
Challenges
Safety
P1: “We used social media to talk
with people around the
world…an 18-year-old kid can
have a voice on the global stage.”
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Evidence of Trustworthiness
I upheld issues of trustworthiness in several ways. In this section I will describe
how I ensured credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability by using a
rigorous methodology (see Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). I
implemented a rigorous methodology to improve the trustworthiness of my study that
aligned my methods to my RQs as well as the best practices detailed in the literature for
basic qualitative research design.
I ensured credibility in my study by following careful procedures at each step of
the research process that I described in Chapter 3 (see Bashir et al., 2008; Carlson, 2010;
Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). During data collection, I
used a set interview protocol where each participant was asked the same questions to
yield more credible results (see Patton, 2015). Additionally, I used audio recordings,
verbatim transcripts, participant transcript validation, and reflexive memos to improve the
credibility of my study (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021). I also improved my credibility by
creating a codebook and completing multiple levels of data analysis including
considering discrepant data and capturing thick descriptions (see Jorgensen, 2009; Patton,
2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021). One adjustment that I made from my Chapter 3 plan was to
add even more probing questions as checks for candor and honesty to make sure that I
was collecting credible data, especially after unusual circumstances began emerging (see
Rubin & Rubin, 2012). I also needed to adjust my participant size when I eliminated
participants that were deemed untrustworthy.
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I ensured transferability by considering broader themes while maintaining the
richness provided by each participant (see Ravitch & Carl, 2021). To ensure
transferability I followed the strategies suggested by Anney (2014) that I described in
Chapter 3. I used purposeful sampling and thick descriptions of participants’ contexts so
that my readers could better judge the transferability of my findings (see Anney, 2014). I
also made sure that I did not generalize findings too much, which is appropriate for
qualitative research (see Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 2015; Ravitch & Carl, 2021).
I ensured dependability by following a systematic design and research methods
aligned to my RQs. I designed my study following the strategies suggested by Anney
(2014) that I described in Chapter 3. To ensure the dependability of my findings, I
employed proper coding techniques by creating a codebook, re-coding, and keeping track
of decisions about merging codes (see Anney, 2014). I also used Dedoose software to
keep track of analysis decisions (see Houghton et al., 2013). During data collection and
analysis, I kept reflexive memos about interviews, coding, and analysis to help ensure
that I employed dependable techniques for a basic qualitative study.
I ensured confirmability by engaging in reflexivity and keeping an audit trail of
research activities in my journal. I followed the strategies suggested by Ravitch and Carl
(2021) that I described in Chapter 3. I shared my reflexive journal entries with my
dissertation committee when unusual circumstances arose so that I could benefit from
their reflexive consultation. I continued to read my journal entries and data transcripts
throughout data analysis to confirm my coding and thematic thinking. I also employed
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participant review of transcripts to confirm my data. Overall, the systematic strategies
that I implemented throughout my study allowed me to arrive at trustworthy results.
Results
In this section, I organize the results by the four RQs in my study. I also include a
table listing the relevant co-occurring codes that have at least a 57% participant
frequency. The tables also include the total number of transcript excerpts that met the
specific code co-occurrences. To further illustrate my results, I support the discussion of
themes with thick descriptions and direct quotations from participants. I also used
information derived from document analysis which supported participants’ quotations.
Research Question 1
RQ1 was: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to help
students understand current and local community issues? Providing lessons for students
to learn to use social media to gain skills in understanding local, community issues was
important to the majority of participants in this study. Three codes helped answer RQ1,
and that data is detailed in Table 8.
Table 8
Codes to Support Research Question 1
Theme
Code
Frequency %
Total code co-
occurring excerpts
Understand issues
Diverse opinions
86%
24
Credible information
86%
21
Efficacy
86%
14
Note. The frequency % was calculated by dividing the number of participants who
discussed the code co-occurrence out of total participants, n = 7.
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Understanding Issues Enhanced with Diverse Perspectives
The majority of participants in this study discussed the need to teach students the
skills to use social media effectively to understand issues while also providing students
with strategies to read diverse opinions about issues. For example, 5 of 7 participants
specifically discussed the danger of social media’s echo chamber, caused by software
algorithms, where students encounter only opinions that agree with their own perceptions
of an issue. For example, P3 posited that political polarization in the United States exists
in part because people find a social media “comfort group and stay in that comfort
group.” Participants also specifically discussed the echo chamber and algorithms of social
media platforms with their students. For example, P5 described how they used excerpts
from the documentary, The Social Dilemma, to teach students about “the danger of
getting your news only from social media” because algorithms set up an echo chamber.
Participants also shared ideas about how to teach students to go beyond their
social media echo chambers. For example, P2 required students to support claims with
evidence from at least three sources with at least two contrasting perspectives. P5
described a lesson about the U.S. Capitol incident on January 6, 2021, where students
learned the importance of understanding events from multiple perspectives. P5 described
the lesson: “I showed them a social media clip from Trump. I showed them a clip from
Biden, and then we read an article…and talked about…whose perspective is being
featured? Whose perspective is missing?”
Understanding diverse perspectives to fully understand local, community issues
was especially important to two participants who taught student journalists. P3 and P6
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encouraged students to use social media to gather diverse opinions about issues impacting
their communities. P6 required student writers to synthesize multiple perspectives for all
news articles and opinion pieces. P6’s students created both print and online versions of
the school newspaper, and they shared articles on class Twitter and Instagram accounts.
P3 also required students to include at least two perspectives in their news stories, which
were broadcast on YouTube and shared on a class Twitter account. The need for multiple
perspectives was even connected to one goal of P3’s classes: “Give voice to the
voiceless.” P3 felt that goal was important to prepare students for real-world situations
that require a deep understanding of issues.
Reading Credible Information Important to Understanding Issues
Locating credible information was also found to be an important step in
understanding local, community issues. The majority of participants described specific
lessons in online information credibility. P6 detailed a lesson that they used to help
students understand social media misinformation:
I found a research study out of Stanford University…where they presented social
media facts to students …to determine the credibility of sources…I mimicked that
in the classroom…One of the examples…a tweet from MoveOn.org…shows a
statistic that…“Two out of three gun owners support background checks. The
NRA is out of touch with its members.” And then they link a research study…We
go through the process: “Who is MoveOn.org? What is their bias? Do they have a
bias? Is it proven?” Then we look a little bit at the study…It turns out that the
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study was asking gun owners if they supported background checks but not
necessarily NRA members. So then, misleading information.
P2 also described lessons they did on misinformation, with one lesson on John Green’s
“Crash Course” video series on misinformation on social media. [This 17-minute video is
designed for students and discusses strategies for navigating digital information and
misinformation on social media.] Even though P2 shared many specific lessons on
combatting misinformation, P2 opined that education overall was not doing enough to
combat online misinformation and fake news.
Another strategy discussed for combatting misinformation was engaging school
librarians. P3 and P7 discussed how school librarians took an active role in teaching
about credible online information. P3 was thankful for “an excellent library program
here, and they really have sowed the seeds to effectively vet online and social media”
information. P7 said the librarian came to their classroom and did a lesson called “cut the
CRAAP.” The librarian explained that this acronym for credibility stood for “currency,
relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose.” Overall, participants in this study were
actively including lessons to combat misinformation so that their students gained skills in
vetting information they encounter on social media.
Efficacy of Teaching Social Media Skills to Understand Issues
Participants discussed the efficacy of teaching students to use social media to
understand community issues. Although P5 commented that their middle school students
mainly used social media to “post crazy videos on TikTok,” the majority of participants
believed students use social media, in part, to learn about issues. P4 recalled a time when
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they asked students where they got their news, and “most of them say from my parents or
from … YouTube.” Additionally, P7 stated that students are so attached to their phones
that “by default, they’re getting news on social media.” Furthermore, P2 discussed that
teaching social media skills is efficacious and necessary. They opined:
I think that knowing digital media and social media are not going away, that… we
need to get smarter as a whole system of education in preparing kids for that wild
west that they're going into and are living in right now…. I think there’s a sense
of urgency I have right now, but at the same time, this sense of futility…Is it
possible to shift people's mindset if they're not seeing it themselves?
Overall, data in this study support a theme that educators teach social media skills so that
students learn to engage with credible online information that represents a variety of
perspectives for a more complete understanding of local, community issues.
Research Question 2
RQ2 was: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to teach
students to discover diverse opinions about current and local social and political issues?
The majority of participants in this study discussed the need to promote diverse opinions
and multiple perspectives in the classroom. Data that helped answer RQ2 about diverse
opinions included the two codes detailed in Table 9.
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Table 9
Codes to Support Research Question 2
Theme
Code
Frequency %
Total code co-
occurring excerpts
Diverse opinions
Decision-making
71%
10
Credible information
57%
11
Note. The frequency % was calculated by dividing the number of participants who
discussed the code co-occurrence out of total participants, n = 7.
Understanding Diverse Opinions Connects with Decision-making
Five of seven participants in this study discussed the connection between
understanding diverse opinions about local, community issues and student decision-
making skills. For example, P2 encouraged students to discover different perspectives on
issues before deciding where they stand on an issue. P2 stated: “There are so many
complicated issues that if you come up with the quick and easy answer…you haven't
prepared them.” P1 also described how they helped students gain decision-making skills
in connection with multiple perspectives. P1 explained, “I tell my kids that you need to
go look and see if there's another shoulder to the left or another shoulder to the right. And
then …make your best judgment.”
The connection between diverse opinions and decision-making was also at the
center of classrooms that function like newsrooms that use social media to share stories.
When describing how students brainstorm story ideas, P3 detailed their decision-making
process. The school district’s Communication Director and P3 helped students consider a
variety of perspectives before the students decided whether to do a story. Decision-
making continued when students critiqued stories to determine missing perspectives. P3
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said the critique process helped students improve decision-making skills for future
stories. P6’s news classroom also included decision-making skills to navigate differences
of opinions regarding stories. P6 also noted that these conversations were difficult to have
over a Google Meet, which was the main method of classroom conversation because of
distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source Credibility Important for Accurate Diverse Opinions
The majority of participants in this study discussed how providing students with
diverse opinions also required vetting online information for credibility. P5 discussed
how they talked about point of view in connection with propaganda. P3 required student
journalists to write stories with multiple perspectives supported by fair and accurate facts.
Additionally, P2 discussed how social media can help students discover diverse opinions.
P2 explained, “If you have access to people on social media…then you can go to
someone who has expertise in that area and ask multiple people.” Although educators
reported success in teaching students about credible online information, P7 detailed a
story where they knew a student was citing false information in a research paper. P7
stated, “We had to have some uncomfortable conversations…about the credibility of
sources and why this wouldn’t be the best source.” Despite these conversations, P7 said
the student refused to revise the paper because the student “had a message to prove and to
say. And he wasn't going to let anyone tell him otherwise” even if he would receive a
lower grade on the research paper. Overall, data in this study show that educators
described that understanding diverse opinions about community issues is impacted by
students learning decision-making skills and how to vet online information for credibility.
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Research Question 3
RQ3 was: How do secondary educators describe their use of social media to teach
decision-making skills about current issues affecting students’ local communities? Much
of the data for RQ3 has already been discussed in the results sections for RQ1 and RQ2
where similar ideas overlapped. However, to fully answer RQ3, a synthesis of ideas as
well as additional data are included in this section. Data that helped answer RQ3 included
the two codes detailed in Table 10.
Table 10
Codes to Support Research Question 3
Theme
Code
Frequency %
Total code co-
occurring excerpts
Decision-making
Understand issues
100%
11
Credible information
86%
11
Note. The frequency % was calculated by dividing the number of participants who
discussed the code co-occurrence out of total participants, n = 7.
Decision-Making Skills Needed to Understand Issues
Helping students learn to make decisions was at the center of understanding
issues. In fact, the code co-occurring frequency for decision-making and understanding
issues was 100%. P5 stressed that one goal of teaching English is helping students
“reason and think,” even connecting that goal to the Common Core Standards. P2 also
discussed that decision-making is at the core of understanding issues because a goal of
education “is getting kids to question deeply, constantly question everything.” Even
though P2 felt critical thinking was crucial, they felt that educational systems were not set
up to support that level of thinking. P2 opined:
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But most of the structure of our education for years has been on don't question the
teacher. Get the right answers…We're training them to do what a machine would
do, not what our brains have the capacity to do -- of being able to see nuances in
things, to question things, to show curiosity of things that seem dissimilar. Most
of education doesn't teach kids to do that.
Furthermore, participants shared specific strategies for improving student
decision-making skills. For example, P6 and P7 both discussed that they had students
analyze the rhetorical devices to make decisions about the purpose, accuracy, and
relevancy of sources. P3 discussed that teaching students decision-making skills often
“comes down to individual students in my one-on-one interactions with them.”
Additionally, P1 discussed that one way to foster student decision-making skills is to
remind students that they should have trusted sources “from both sides of the aisle” and
find people to push back on their opinions. Overall, participants expressed a need to teach
students decision-making skills in the context of using social media tools.
Decision-making Connects with Reading Credible Information
The data in this study revealed that decision-making was a process that required
the earlier steps of understanding issues and gaining diverse opinions. That process also
required students to read credible information. In fact, the credible information code
overlapped with all four RQ codes at a frequency percent of 57% or higher. Data from
this study show that teaching students about finding credible information on social media
can help students reach a fuller and more accurate understanding of community issues to
be empowered to decide where they stand on those issues.
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Within-methods data triangulation revealed that the two participants who had
been using social media with students the longest were concerned that educators were not
doing enough to teach students about online misinformation. For example, P1
commented on teaching misinformation on social media by saying: “I don't think there's
probably a place in the United States that is doing this very well. I think we’re way
behind the eight ball, and I think it is … incredibly scary.” P2 shared similar views and
thought falling for misinformation was human nature. P2 supported their belief with an
old article that discussed how people were susceptible in the past to propaganda because
people often cannot tell fact from opinion (Sayers, 1948). Overall, data in this study
revealed that educators described that teaching decision-making was a complex process.
This process required teaching students to read credible information from diverse
perspectives so that students learn to make informed decisions about where they stand on
issues. That finding spans three RQs in my study (see Figure 6).
Figure 6
Flow Map of Findings on Credible Information
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The key finding for RQ3 was that educators described that teaching decision-
making was a complex process that required teaching students to read credible
information from diverse perspectives so that students learn to make informed decisions
about where they stand on issues.
Research Question 4
RQ4 was: How do secondary educators describe their instruction to students in
terms of how to publish social media content to be proactive regarding current and local
social and political issues? Educators described that publishing on social media allowed
students to amplify their voice at the local level as well as on a global stage. Data that
helped answer RQ4 included the seven codes detailed in Table 11.
Table 11
Codes to Support Research Question 4
Theme
Code
Frequency %
Total code co-
occurring excerpts
Student voice
Efficacy
86%
24
Digital Writing
86%
24
Connections
86%
22
Stakeholders
71%
15
Evolution of pedagogy
71%
11
Challenges
71%
7
Safety
57%
9
Note. The frequency % was calculated by dividing the number of participants who
discussed the code co-occurrence out of total participants, n = 7.
Efficacy of Encouraging Students to Publish on Social Media
The majority of participants in this study believed that incorporating publishing
on social media in educational contexts was an important and empowering skill for
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students. In fact, P5 began using social media with students just 1 year ago after 26 years
as an educator. P5 explained their motivation:
We have to prepare them for their future .... They're going to be required to do
digital portfolios and social media …You can't get around it … why not adapt our
instruction to what they're interested in and what their world is…We can’t always
just have students conform to our teaching.
Likewise, P7 commented on the need for educators to include social media skills, stating,
“This is our future generation, and they are smart, and if they had the tools to know how
to effectively use social media, I think we'd see a lot of change in a positive way.”
Additionally, P6 discussed the need for student journalists to publish on social media
because social media “is where journalism is going.”
In addition to sharing general motivations for using social media with students,
participants discussed that publishing on social media could empower students by
providing them with a positive digital footprint. For example, P2 discussed the need for
students to establish a positive digital footprint, especially to help in the college search
process. P2 detailed a story about a student asking them for a college recommendation
letter, and P2 told the student that they could go back and review the social media posts
that the student created over the years. P2 recalled that the student responded: “I wasn't
even thinking about my future at that point…I can't believe you were thinking about my
future.” P3 also discussed how a positive digital footprint may prove important for the
college search process. P3 explained that graduates tell students that “colleges are
looking at your social media when they're looking for acceptance to the college.”
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Therefore, P3 required students “to walk out the door with something positive” by
creating digital portfolios that included their YouTube news stories and other social
media activities.
In addition to a positive digital footprint being an efficacious outcome of
publishing on social media, two experienced participants discussed the impact of social
media on citizenship. P2 described citizenship discussions with students:
I talk to them about education being at the center of a democracy being able to
thrive, and if the purpose of education is to help prepare someone to live in a
society that has these tensions of freedoms, and balances chaos and order, that
extends to social media as well.
P1 also discussed that social media helps students be “prepared to take their rightful place
on the global stage.” Overall, the majority of participants in this study felt it was
efficacious for secondary educators to incorporate social media publishing skills into
their classrooms.
Digital Writing and Connections Empower Students
Digital writing was a specific area of social media pedagogy discussed by 6 of 7
participants in this study. Those participants described digital writing on social media as
an empowering opportunity for students. For example, P4 discussed how writing on
social media can sometimes amplify voices that might otherwise be silenced. P4
explained, “Social media is not constrained by traditional standard English.…Students of
color and Latinx students…are not intimidated to use…Twitter language or emojis.” P1
also commented on the power of social media to amplify student voice: “We used social
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media to talk with people around the world, to talk as filmmakers and storytellers…an
18-year-old kid can have a voice on the global stage.”
Participants also shared detailed stories of how digital writing on social media
was empowering for students. For example, P2 shared a story how their students used
social media to amplify their voice:
When COVID hit, there were a group of kids who got really passionate about
making sure there wasn't stigma associated with the virus in Asia and creating a
video that was short enough that it could go on Instagram and YouTube and
sharing that out for positive messaging.
P6 also shared a detailed story about the empowering nature of Twitter:
When the school board was deciding if they were going to go full distance
learning or stay in hybrid, a few of the student journalists started live tweeting the
event. And it got a lot of good traction… A journalist…started…following our
account because of that. So it's interesting…how that spreads to professional
connections.
Although P6’s story about live tweeting a school board meeting was an answer to
an interview question on publishing on social media to amplify student voice, the story
illustrates another empowering aspect of social media—the ability to network for
professional connections and expanded personal relationships. In fact, the majority of
participants in this study described how digital writing on social media tied into making
connections with others. P1 stated, “We're helping somebody replant 60 million trees in
Malawi … And we interact through social media.” P5’s students promoted their service-
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learning projects on Instagram and Facebook, even using hashtags to make connections
with others when they painted rocks with positive messages and placed them around the
community.
Furthermore, two participants discussed the power of social media for career
networking. P3 discussed how social media was an important part of students making
connections with graduates of the school’s Communications Technology program. These
students could network and explore journalism careers with alumni. P7 also discussed the
power of social media connections as part of career exploration. P7 reported:
We had the kids open up a Twitter account, and we talked about how to do that,
and we had them search blogs, search LinkedIn…Research what people were
saying, what innovative leaders in their job fields were doing, and how they were
marketing themselves on social media. They tracked their networking journey…to
see how often these innovators were posting about their job field.
Overall, social media was found to be an important tool that secondary educators used to
teach digital writing for advocacy and networking connections.
Educators Face Challenges When Using Social Media with Students
Although participants discussed challenges in relation to all four RQs, coded
excerpts were most prevalent for RQ4 about teaching students to publish information on
social media. Therefore, challenges will be discussed in their entirety in this section. It is
also important to note that when educators were using social media in a media consumer
role, they faced fewer challenges. P7 commented that they rarely faced challenges
because they never had students publish information on social media because it “was
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safer” to use social media that way. See Figure 7 for a tree map the classifies data about
the challenges that participants discussed throughout their interviews.
Figure 7
Challenges Tree Map to Classify Stakeholders and Safety Data
Stakeholder Concerns. Following school policies was one stakeholder challenge
for secondary educators who use social media with students. P1explained how school
policies often involved blocking websites so that students could not use them for
educational purposes:
Social media was a taboo of society…They block everything. I mean we blocked
Wikipedia up until probably 3 years ago because it wasn’t a trusted source, an up-
to-date source. And I said, “The encyclopedias in the library don't have the
Kennedy assassination in it. You tell me which one is easier to update, and which
one is more relevant.” So it took a long time, but I have a superintendent now that
believes in what we do.
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P6 also discussed how students do not always wait for the proper permission to use a
social media tool. P6 stated: “The yearbook staff started a TikTok…They have since
slowed down publishing until I can find more information about if it's allowed…So it’s
sort of ask forgiveness not permission.”
Administrator and parent pushback was another common stakeholder challenge
for social media educators, and participants discussed that this pushback was often
connected to political polarization in the United States. For example, P5 stated that after a
lesson about social media and the U.S. Capitol incident on January 6, 2021, they were
called into the assistant principal’s office and told that a parent complained about the
lesson, calling it liberal indoctrination. P7 had similar fears about getting in trouble if
they used social media with students because of the need to remain politically neutral. P7
commented: “I did not feel comfortable as a non-tenured teacher being active on social
media for any reason…It was important that I … maintain this really neutral image to
keep a job.” Additionally, P2 commented that families were the biggest challenge
because they sometimes used social media to complain about teachers. P2 explained:
Parents or caregivers who haven't learned digital citizenship themselves…who
will not talk to a teacher face-to-face and say I have a concern with whatever, who
find it more validating to leave out some pieces of information, post it publicly to
social networks to get huge levels of support from others.
P2 continued that sometimes this social media backlash got so intense that parents were
even afraid to have their students’ accomplishments highlighted on social media for fear
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of negative backlash. Overall, parent pushback and administrator concerns were social
media challenges that educators faced.
Furthermore, secondary educators teaching student journalists also commented on
how they navigated social media in a politically polarized climate. For example, P3
sometimes felt caught between not talking about politics and running a news program
that is an open forum for expression. Additionally, P6 discussed the need to keep social
media posts simple and not sensational. P6 explained, “We basically listed just the title.
Like a short description of the event and then the title of the op-ed.” Even though P6 said
the students were careful about what they posted on the publication’s social media
accounts, they still sometimes received social media backlash for stories they published.
Another challenge to using social media with students was pushback from the
students themselves. For example, P4 explained how their students were “jaded about
social media in general. They don't use it as much as students did … 10 years ago.” P4
also discussed that the social media platforms change so fast that “even to admit to my
students that I’m on Facebook, you just are already putting a barrier between you and
them because they know that only old people use Facebook .... So the eye rolling made
me reconsider what I was doing.” Additionally, P3 discussed how they sometimes get
pushback from students, especially when students want to do news stories that would not
be allowed because of school policies. For example, students often want to write
retrospectives for students who have died. P3 described this type of situation:
Our school's policy is—it’s acknowledged. That we have support systems in
place, but everything is as normal as it was. Because especially if it's like a
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suicide, they're afraid of copycats, and they want consistency. And so it's pushing
back to students to say, hey, you have to understand this.
In sum, stakeholder challenges from administrators, parents, and students were faced by
secondary educators who used social media with students.
Safety and Privacy Issues. Another common challenge to using social media
with students were safety and privacy concerns. Fear was a common safety concern
discussed by participants. P1 said, “There was definitely a big fear of letting kids interact
with anybody out there…I mean there are just bad people.” P5 also discussed how their
school district was fearful of innovation in general, and district officials especially feared
liability issues if students posted on social media. Another safety concern discussed was
the cyberbullying students faced. P2 even discussed how they were personally bullied on
social media by parents. However, P2 persisted in using social media despite this and
explained: “I want to send a message to the kids that I value their voice more than I value
the discomfort of the ongoing cyberstalking, social media attacks.”
Safety concerns discussed by participants also included privacy concerns for
students. For example, P6 discussed how following students on social media has privacy
implications. Therefore, P6 set up separate teacher social media accounts, and students
can request to follow those teacher accounts. P6 waits for students to follow them before
following students back. Additionally, P1 said that to mitigate privacy concerns, students
follow the district policy that students use only their first name and last initial when
posting on social media for school activities. Moreover, five participants discussed how
that at some time they used class social media accounts so that students could publish on
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social media yet maintain privacy. Dealing with privacy challenges was an evolving
strategy for P2. P2 started with class accounts to protect student privacy, but then evolved
to individual accounts with first name and last initial. However, P2 realized that student
full names were needed for students to create a positive digital footprint that was
searchable by future college or job prospects. Therefore, P2 explained to parents the
benefits and risks of letting students use their full name, and then some students went
back to add their full names if they had parent permission. In sum, the majority of
participants encountered challenges when using social media with students.
Experience Leads to Evolution of Pedagogy
Participants in this study discussed that as they gained more experience in using
social media, they changed the way they implemented lessons. As part of within-methods
data triangulation, I created two multi-flow thinking maps to analyze cause-and-effect
relationships about educators and their pedagogy (see Hyerle & Yaeger, 2007). One
multi-flow map analyzed less experienced social media educators, and one analyzed the
more experienced ones. By creating these two separate multi-flow maps, I discovered
how pedagogy evolved based on educator experience levels. See Figure 8 for the multi-
flow map that captures the evolution of pedagogy data for participants with less than 10
years of experience using social media with secondary students. It is important to note
that in a multi-flow thinking map, causes do not “have a one-to-one correspondence with
the effects” (see Hyerle & Yaeger, 2007, p. 62).
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Figure 8
Pedagogical Evolution for Less Experienced Educators
Participants with less than 10 years of experience using social media with students
told stories about times they realized they needed to learn more about social media to be
an effective educator. For example, P5 discussed how they were unfamiliar with creating
social media platforms, so they relied on a teacher with these skills to coach them through
the process. Additionally, P6 stated that they needed to figure out some of the technology
on their own. P6 explained:
I need to learn…that analytics side of when you post something whether it's on
TikTok or Instagram or Twitter or wherever. How can you see who is seeing it?
How is it being shared? That data side of it. That is something that I don't know,
and I never thought I would need to know.
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P6 also discussed how their pedagogy evolved as the field of journalism evolved to
include more social media. P6 had to restructure the school newspaper’s editorial board
to focus on publishing more content directly to social media.
Two of the less experienced social media educators also evolved their pedagogy
to a point where social media became almost non-existent in their classrooms. P4
discussed how a “tweet of the day” as an exit card used to be fun, but now the novelty of
social media was wearing off for students. Therefore, P4 abandoned using social media in
the classroom. Additionally, P7 felt “silenced” by school administration because of
political polarization, and P7 was hesitant to use social media with students. Instead, P7
used “fake” social media assignments where students created posters that looked like
Instagram feeds or wrote fake tweets on paper. P7 explained, “It's innocent fun, and no
longer do we discuss kind of the intricacies that surround global citizenship or how to be
an effective user.” Overall, the less experienced educators were concerned with learning
the technical side of social media or abandoned using social media.
In contrast to the less experienced educators, data for participants who had been
using social media with students for over 10 years revealed that these experienced
participants persisted despite obstacles and were more concerned about the overall future
of social media’s impact on education. See Figure 9 for the multi-flow map that
synthesized the evolution of pedagogy data for participants with more than 10 years of
experience using social media with students.
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Figure 9
Pedagogical Evolution for More Experienced Educators
Data reveal that experienced educators were concerned about education reforms
and evolving pedagogy systemwide to keep up with the changing world of technology.
For example, P3 discussed how the focus of education should be changing in the K-12
system from students being media consumers to students being media producers. P1 also
discussed how producing media is easier than ever because students now have “a studio
on their phone.” Additionally, P2 discussed how distance learning during the COVID-19
pandemic had some positive impacts because it pushed educators into using technology
whereas technology reforms had been relatively inertial in the past. P2 opined, “It just up-
ended everything and showed what was – what a lot of us knew was faulty for years.” All
three of these experienced educators also discussed how social media could be part of a
student’s digital portfolio.
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The experienced participants also discussed the ethical and philosophical
considerations of social media. For example, P1 and P2 were concerned about the impact
that artificial intelligence would have on social media, and they were concerned that
educators might not be ready to teach students about how artificial intelligence would
impact their lives. P2 even discussed how they had been researching and writing about
how artificial intelligence is a “whole other dark side of social media.” Likewise, P1 has
been working with an international group on the implications of artificial intelligence on
education, and they explained that “there's an AI [artificial intelligence] out there that
writes its own blog.” P1 suggested that artificial social media content would have huge
implications for educators. In sum, although experienced educators commented on
broader implications of social media education, all participants in this study discussed
how their pedagogy around using social media evolved in some way.
Overall, the key finding for RQ4 was that despite having to deal with challenges
and learn to evolve their pedagogy, secondary educators could teach students
empowering skills for publishing information about social and political issues.
Summary
Based on data analysis I organized a key finding for each RQ. The key finding for
RQ1 was educators teach social media skills so that students learn to engage with
credible online information that represents a variety of perspectives for a more complete
understanding of local, community issues. For RQ2, educators described that
understanding diverse opinions about community issues is impacted by students learning
decision-making skills and how to vet online information for credibility. The key finding
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for RQ3 was that educators described that teaching decision-making was a complex
process that required teaching students to read credible information from diverse
perspectives so that students learn to make informed decisions about where they stand on
issues. Finally, the key finding for RQ4 was that despite having to deal with challenges
and learn to evolve their pedagogy, secondary educators could teach students
empowering skills for publishing information about social and political issues.
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Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Introduction
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how secondary educators
describe their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological
empowerment skills. In this basic qualitative study, secondary educators described ways
they used social media to help students understand and advocate for community issues.
Data were collected through virtual interviews with seven participants. I conducted data
analysis of interview transcripts using iterative open coding. Since little research has been
conducted regarding educators using social media for student empowerment, the findings
of this study may add to the literature on digital literacy by providing secondary
educators and policy makers with strategies for implementing social media in educational
settings so that students use social media effectively for positive social change.
In this chapter, I present an interpretation of key findings and discuss ways that
this study confirms, disconfirms, or extends knowledge in the discipline of digital literacy
and social media use in educational contexts. Through data analysis, I arrived at a key
finding for each of my four RQs. The key finding for RQ1 was educators teach social
media skills so that students learn to engage with credible online information that
represents a variety of perspectives for a more complete understanding of local and
community issues. For RQ2, educators described that understanding diverse opinions
about community issues is impacted by students learning decision-making skills and how
to vet online information for credibility. The key finding for RQ3 was that educators
described that teaching decision-making was a complex process that required teaching
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students to read credible information from diverse perspectives so that students learn to
make informed decisions about where they stand on issues. Finally, the key finding for
RQ4 was that despite having to deal with challenges and learn to evolve their pedagogy,
secondary educators could teach students empowering skills for publishing information
about social and political issues.
Interpretation of the Findings
Secondary educator experiences using social media to influence students’
empowerment skills were viewed through the conceptual framework of connectivism and
psychological empowerment. I avoided generalizations in my interpretation of findings
and discuss findings that confirm, extend, and disconfirm ideas found in my literature
review. I present findings thematically, organized by Magana’s T3 technology framework
since I used that to organize my literature review. I also present findings thematically
since my findings overlapped with this study’s RQs. The T3 framework stands for
translational classroom technology uses that could have been completed in an analog
way, transformational uses that require technology to share products with a global
audience, and transcendent uses that lead to unexpected learning outcomes. See Figure 10
for a summary of the interpretation of findings organized by the T3 framework. Figure 10
also includes references to RQs that correspond with each theme. After discussing T3
framework themes, I interpret findings about challenges educators faced when using
social media, and I discuss connections to the conceptual framework of this study.
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Figure 10
Interpretation of Findings Organized Using Magana’s T3 Framework
Locating Credible Information
My study confirms previous research regarding educators using social media as
one way to teach students to discover information during research or inquiry projects (see
Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason, 2018; Magana, 2017).
Moreover, in a review of the literature on social media consumption, researchers found
that students need skills to distinguish credible online information from misinformation
(Horn & Veermans, 2019; Huguet et al., 2021; Kuruliszwili, 2018; Little, 2018; Stanford
History Education Group, 2016). The findings of my study confirm these ideas because
the participants taught students to vet online information for truthfulness. The findings of
my study also extend pedagogical knowledge by providing specific teaching strategies
for locating credible information on social media, including internet resources as well as
ways to partner with school librarians for credibility lessons.
Discovering Diverse Opinions
In a review of the literature on social media consumption, researchers discovered
that educators use social media to help students gain diverse opinions about issues
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(Chapman & Greenhow, 2020; Cladis, 2020; Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Farmer, 2020;
Kornbluh, 2019). The findings of my study confirm this idea since participants discussed
how they promote multiple perspectives and use social media as one way to help students
discover diverse opinions. The lessons learned in this study also extend knowledge in the
discipline of digital literacy by providing specific teaching strategies about social media’s
echo chamber and algorithms. My study further extends understanding by describing
ways to incorporate contrasting perspectives when publishing on social media, especially
ideas for journalism educators.
Establishing a Positive Digital Footprint
In a review of the literature on digital student portfolios, researchers found that
secondary educators promote digital portfolios to showcase student work and establish a
positive digital footprint (Akdag & Ozkan, 2017; Casey & Evans, 2017; Magana, 2017).
My study confirms this since participants required students to create digital portfolios
with social media products showcased. Previous studies also discussed the need for a
positive digital footprint to help students with future college and career exploration
(Buchanan et al., 2017; Magana, 2017). My study confirmed this since participants
discussed how former students thanked them for helping them establish a positive digital
footprint that helped students during college and career searches.
Learning Decision-Making Skills
In a review of the literature on decision-making and social media, researchers
found that inquiry learning and critical thinking increased a student’s ability to make
decisions about community issues (Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Hipolito-Delgado & Zion,
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2017; Kornbluh, 2019; Zimmerman et al., 2018). My study confirms this idea since
participants described teaching students decision-making skills in the context of using
social media. Participants discussed how decision-making was a complex process that
required rhetorical analysis, vetting information, considering multiple perspectives, and
one-on-one conversations with students. My study also extends pedagogical knowledge
by discussing decision-making in journalism classrooms that publish on social media.
Publishing to Amplify Student Voice
In previous studies, researchers found that educators transformed teaching by
empowering students to connect with a global audience on social media (Chapman &
Greenhow, 2020; Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason, 2018; Gleason & von Gillern,
2018; Gruno et al., 2018; Wargo & Clayton, 2018). My study confirms that educators
used social media so that students could amplify their voice at the local level and global
stage. Participants also discussed how social media publishing allowed students to make
personal and professional connections.
Increasing Civic Engagement
Previous studies have shown that publishing on social media empowers students
by amplifying their voice and thereby increasing their civic engagement (Chapman &
Greenhow, 2020; Ekström & Shehata, 2018; Gleason, 2018; Wargo & Clayton, 2018).
My study confirms what is understood about civic empowerment since participants
discussed the impact of social media on citizenship. Participants also discussed how
social media was an important component of service-learning activities designed to
increase civic engagement.
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Social Media Challenges
In a review of literature on challenges of using social media in educational
contexts, researchers found that educators faced challenges involving student safety,
cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and polarized political discourse (Alshawareb &
Alnasraween, 2020; Laronde et al., 2017; Martin et al., 2018; Rodríguez-Enríquez et al.,
2019). My study confirms knowledge about social media challenges in educational
contexts since participants discussed their fears about student privacy and cyberbullying
as well as the need to follow school policies to help mitigate these safety concerns.
However, the findings of this study may disconfirm the literature that educators deal with
students posting inappropriate content on social media (see Burtch, 2018; Casey &
Evans, 2017; Gleason, 2018). None of this study’s participants discussed students posting
inappropriate content. Instead, participants seemed more concerned with student mental
health and cyberbullying. Perhaps educators have become more focused on more serious
safety concerns than off-color comments.
Another challenge discussed in the literature was the difficulty of using social
media with students because of polarized political discourse (Burtch, 2018; Chapman &
Greenhow, 2020; Manca et al., 2021). My findings confirm this idea because participants
discussed dealing with administrator and parent pushback, even being labeled liberal
indoctrinators when doing lessons on social media credibility and multiple perspectives.
My study also extends understanding on polarized political discourse by describing
experiences of journalism educators who discussed navigating tensions of running a news
program in a politically polarized climate.
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The findings of my study can also be interpreted by the conceptual framework of
this study. First, Siemens (2005) said knowledge requires people understanding a range
of diverse opinions and decision-making is learning. This study’s findings confirmed
those ideas by describing ways that educators used social media to help students gain
diverse opinions and make decisions. Second, Zimmerman (1995) said psychological
empowerment increases when people understand community issues and proactively work
for social change. My study confirms those ideas by describing ways that secondary
educators use social media to help students understand multiple perspectives about issues
while reading credible online information. The findings also highlighted how social
media is a tool students can use in empowering ways to make social change. Overall,
findings of my study confirm previous research showing that educators who incorporate
social media in their classrooms can influence their students’ empowerment skills.
Limitations of the Study
The main limitation of this study involved the number of participants. Participants
were limited to my professional learning network of educators who could be contacted
via social media or a university’s participant pool. Although I identified and selected the
first 12 participants who claimed to meet my study’s inclusion criteria, I was only able to
use the data for seven trustworthy participants. Five participants were found to be
dishonest about meeting study inclusion criteria and during the actual interviews, and
their data were removed from my study before data analysis. Using only honest
participants improved the trustworthiness of my study.
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Another limitation of my study involved participants’ content areas. This study’s
inclusion criteria were not limited to only communications or language arts educators;
however, all seven participants ended up discussing that type of coursework. Even though
participants discussed work with students closely related to communication skills, I was
able to achieve data saturation because interview questions focused on reading, writing,
research, and communication. Even with this limitation, the transferability of findings for
this study is still applicable to the field of digital literacy since communication skills are
relevant for this academic area.
Recommendations
Recommendations for further research are based on results and limitations of this
study. The first recommendation is related to findings about teaching credible
information and diverse opinions when society is politically polarized. Since participants
discussed how these lessons were sometimes criticized by parents and administrators and
labeled liberal indoctrination, researchers could study whether educators are reluctant to
teach credibility of source information and diverse opinions because they fear reprisal.
A second recommendation is related to a limitation of this study. Participants in
this study focused their discussions on social media strategies in communications-focused
classes. During my review of the literature, studies about social media use included
participants from math, science, and health fields. Since my study did not include
participants from those content areas, my study should be replicated with participants
from the hard sciences to determine if results are similar in terms of using social media to
influence student empowerment.
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A third recommendation is related to an overall gap in the literature regarding
longitudinal studies of educators who use social media with students to determine ways
their pedagogy evolves. Within-methods data analysis in this study revealed differences
between experienced and less experienced participants. Experienced participants seemed
to persist through challenges and evolve their pedagogy to meet those challenges and take
their students’ learning to transcendent levels. A longitudinal study of secondary
educators would help answer questions about why educators either abandon teaching
social media skills or embrace challenges to teach students the skills needed to keep up
with the changing world of technology.
Finally, a fourth recommendation for this study relates to the basic qualitative
methodology and use of virtual interviews for data collection. Since faking online
personas has become a growing phenomenon in society, qualitative researchers need to
consider data collection procedures that protect them from selecting participants who
may be dishonest about inclusion criteria and interview responses. Researchers could
perhaps study how including a participant verification step could help protect against
imposter participants or how requiring participants to use the video feature during
interviews with teleconferencing software would protect against participants completing
more than one interview with a fake persona.
Implications
This study contributes to positive social change in several ways. At the individual
level, secondary educators can learn strategies for using social media to influence student
empowerment skills. They can also learn reasons why other educators are motivated to
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include social media lessons in their classrooms. At the organizational level, educators
and school administrators can learn about the challenges educators face when using social
media with students and ways to mitigate those challenges. At the societal level,
education policy makers may learn from this study that young people could benefit from
intentional skill-building in social media, especially since it is a major platform for
political discourse, dissemination of information, and social change efforts. Overall, this
study may advance knowledge in the field of education by providing ideas about
learning, instruction, and innovation as it relates to digital literacy generally and social
media skills specifically. This advanced knowledge could lead to positive social change
through improved professional practice for educators who use this knowledge to
influence their students’ empowerment skills so that these students embrace their place as
global citizens and work to make positive social change.
Conclusion
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how secondary educators
describe their experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological
empowerment skills. The findings of this study add to the body of literature about using
social media for student empowerment. This knowledge is important since social media
is a powerful tool young people can use to learn information and advocate for
sociopolitical issues in their local communities (see Farmer, 2020; Gedik & Cosar, 2020).
Additionally, social media has even become the main tool of political discourse and
protest in much of the world (Heaney, 2020; Pillay, 2020). However, social media has the
potential to be misused to spread misinformation or extreme views (Brill & Crovitz,
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2020; Munn, 2021; Pantucci & Ong, 2021). Therefore, students would benefit from
learning skills for using these platforms for effective civic engagement. Secondary
educators can provide students with the social media skills they need to be empowered
citizens who understand community issues and work for positive social change.
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