Teachers’ Perceptions about their Responsibility for what Pupils Do on Social Media

Elin Thunman, Marcus Persson, Johanna Lovén

Abstract


Contributing to the knowledge about teachers’ educational use of social media, the aim of this article is to explore Swedish secondary school teachers’ understanding of their duties of care and responsibilities for what pupils do on social media. The article draws on data from a mixed method study, consisting of an interview study and a national survey. The findings from the survey show that some groups of teachers are more likely than others to express responsibility for pupils, especially teachers who use many different social media, those who use them in contact with pupils, teachers working at private schools, and female teachers. The subjective experiences from the interviews are supported by the findings from the survey – indicating a correlation between social media usage and level of perceived responsibility. The more the teachers use social media, and thereby get access to more personal information about the pupils, the greater the likelihood that the teachers will perceive that they have some responsibility for what the pupils do on social media. The meaning of the findings is discussed in relation to the theory of caring ethics.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.17.6.8


Keywords


Teachers, Social media, Responsibility, Ethics of Care

Full Text:

PDF

References


Batchelor, R., Bobrowicz, A. Mackenzie, R., & Milne, A. (2012). Challenges of ethical and legal responsibilities when technologies’ uses and users change: Social networking sites, decision-making capacity and dementia. Ethics and Information Technology, 14, 99-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-012-9286-x

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Edwards, C., & Jones, F. (2009). Is my profile open? When teachers post ‘inappropriate’ material on social networking sites, The Berkeley Electronic Press. Retrieved from: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1000&context=faye_jones

European Schoolnet (2013). Survey of schools: ICT in education. Benchmarking access, use and attitudes to technology in Europe’s schools. Final Study Report. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/sites/digital-agenda/files/KK-31-13-401-EN-N.pdf

Findahl, O., & Davidsson, P. (2015). Svenskarna och internet 2015 [The Swedes and Internet 2015]. Stockholm: The Internet foundation in Sweden.

Fox, A., & Bird, T. (2017). The challenge to professionals of using social media: Teachers in England negotiating personal-professional identities. Education and Information Technology, 22(2), 647-675. https://doi10.1007/s10639-015-9442-0

Frey, J. H., & Fontana, A. (1991). The group interview in social research. The Social Science Journal, 28(2), 175-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/0362-3319(91)90003-m

Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Gilligan, C. (1995). Hearing the Difference: Theorizing Connection. Hypatia, 10(2), 120-127. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.1995.tb01373.x

Gordon, S., Benner, P., & Noddings, N. (Eds.) (1996). Caregiving: Readings in knowledge, practice, ethics, and politics. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (1983). Ethnography: Principles in practice. London: Tavistock.

Helleve, I., Almås, A. G., & Bjørkelo, B. D. (2013). Social networking sites in education:Governmental recommendations and actual use. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 04, 192-207. Retrieved from: http://www.idunn.no/ts/dk/2013/04/social_networking_sites_in_education_governmental_recomme? mostRead=true

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2011). Cyber bullying: A review of the legal issues facing educators. Preventing school failure: Alternative education for children and youth, 55(2), 71-78. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988x.2011.539433

Howard, K. E. (2013). Using Facebook and other SNSs in k-12 classrooms: Ethical considerations for safe social networking. Issues in Teacher Education, 22(2), 39-54. Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_articles/50

Juvonen, J., & Gross, E. F. (2008). Extending the school grounds? Bullying experiences in cyberspace. Journal of School Health, 78(9), 496-505. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2008.00335.x

Lampert, M. (1985). How do teachers manage to teach? Perspectives on problems in practice. Harvard Educational Review, 55, 178-194. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.55.2.56142234616x4352

Livingstone, S., & Brake, D. R. (2010). On the rapid rise of social networking sites: New findings and policy implications. Children & Society, 24(1), 75-83. https://doi:10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00243.x

Mazer, J. P., Murphy, R. E. & Simonds, C. J. (2009). The effects of teacher selfdisclosure via Facebook on teacher credibility, Learning, Media and Technology 34(2), 175-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439880902923655

Merton, R. K., Fiske, M., & Kendall, P. L. (1990). The focused interview: A manual of problems and procedures. [1956] New York: The Free Press.

National Union of Teachers in Sweden. (2010). Elever och lärare online: Var går gränsen? [Pupils and Teachers Online: Where Is the Line?]. Stockholm: Author. Retrieved from: https://www.lr.se/opinionpaverkan/undersokningar/arkiv/eleverochlarareonlinevargargransen.5.4ff660ce12b12fe7dbb80003297.html

Noddings, N. (1984). Caring: A feminine approach to ethics & moral education. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Noddings, N. (1992). The challenge to care in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Owens, L. M. & Ennis, C. D. (2005). The ethic of care in teaching: An overview of supportive literature, Quest, 57(4), 392-425. https://doi:10.1080/00336297.2005.10491864

Shariff, S. (2005). Cyber-dilemmas in the new millennium: School obligations to provide student safety in a virtual school environment. McGill Journal of Education, 40(3), 467-478.

Swedish National Agency for Education (2013). IT-användning och IT-kompetens i skolan [ICT Use and ICT Skills in Schools]. Stockholm: Authors. Retrieved from: https://www.skolverket.se/publikationer?id=3005

Swedish National Agency for Education (2015). Vad gör försteläraren? [What does the lead teacher do?]. Stockholm: Authors. Retrieved from: https://www.skolverket.se/publikationer?id=3423

Swedish National Agency for Education (2016a). IT-användning och IT-kompetens i skolan. Skolverkets IT-uppföljning 2015 [ICT Use and ICT Skills in Schools]. Stockholm: Authors. Retrieved from: https://www.skolverket.se/publikationer?id=3617

Swedish National Agency for Education (2016b). Curriculum for the compulsory school, preschool class and the recreation centre, 2011. Revised 2016. Stockholm: Authors. Retrieved from: https://www.skolverket.se/publikationer?id=2687

Teachers’ Professional Ethics Council (2012). Teachers and social media – A statement from the Teachers’ Professional Ethics Council. Retrieved from: http://www.lararesyrkesetik.se

Thunman, E., & Persson, M. (2013). Teachers’ access to and use of ICT: an indicator of growing inequity in Swedish schools. Contemporary Educational Technology, 4(3): 155-171. Retrieved from: http://www.cedtech.net/articles/43/431.pdf

Thunman, E., Lovén, J., & Persson, M. (2016). Nationella kartläggning av lärares (åk7-9) användning av sociala medier för elevkontakter. [National survey of secondary teachers’ use of social media for pupil contact]. Uppsala University: Department of Sociology.

Thunman, E., & Persson, M. (2017). Ethical dilemmas on social media: Swedish secondary teachers’ boundary management on Facebook. Teacher Development, 22(2): 175-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2017.1371634

Tirri, K., & Husu, J. (2002). Care and responsibility in ‘the best interest of the child’: Relational voices of ethical dilemmas in teaching, Teachers and Teaching, 8(1), 65-80. https://doi:10.1080/13540600120110574

Ybarra, M. L., & Mitchell, K. J. (2008). How risky are social networking sites? A comparison of places online where youth sexual solicitation and harassment occurs. Pediatrics, 121(2), 350-357. https://doi:10.1542/peds.2007-0693

Yilmaz, H. (2010). An examination of preservice teachers’ perceptions about cyberbullying. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 6(4), 263-270. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75248


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493