SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS’ AND TEACHERS’ VIEWS ABOUT THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AT SCHOOLS AS A NEW PLATFORM IN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Abstract

This research aimed to evaluate the school administrators’ and teachers’ views about the use of social media at schools as a new platform in organizational communication. Phenomenology, a qualitative research model, was used in the research. A total of 17 participants who were included in the research (school administrators and teachers) were selected by using the purposive sampling methods that were well-suited to the qualitative research studies, namely, the “maximum variation sampling method” and the “criterion sampling method”. Participants’ views were received via semi-structured and in-depth interviews. The research data were analyzed by using the NVivo 12.0 software. The inductive descriptive analysis, content analysis, and the constant comparison technique were utilized in the interpretation of interview texts. In this context, the participants’ views were grouped under the themes of “views about the definition of social media”, “views about whether the use of social media at schools is necessary”, “views about the purpose of using social media at schools”, “views about the likely effects of using social media at schools”, and “views about recommending the use of social media at schools”. In the research, the participants stated that they viewed social media as a communication tool, the use of social media at schools was necessary, social media platforms could be used for education & instruction and giving (sharing) information, social media could have positive effects besides negative effects, and certain societal, technical, and legal measures should be taken to assure that the social media was used effectively. To ensure the professional use of social media at schools, it is recommended that educators undergo professional development.  Article visualizations