Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Darci J. Harland

Abstract

Social media is a sociopolitical phenomenon with the potential to impact people’s psychological empowerment. The problem is that little is known about the experiences of secondary educators who teach students to use social media in empowering ways for social change. The purpose of this study was to explore secondary educator experiences using social media to influence students’ psychological empowerment skills to understand diverse opinions about community issues and proactively work for social change. This study’s conceptual framework was connectivist theory that learning occurs through online connections and the psychological empowerment principle that people feel in more control when they understand issues and work for social change. This study’s research questions centered on social media instruction to understand issues, discover diverse opinions, learn decision-making skills, and publish to influence social change. A basic qualitative approach was used with semi-structured interviews of seven secondary educators from the United States who used social media for sociopolitical purposes with students. Participants were recruited from online professional learning networks. Data analysis included open coding of verbatim interview transcripts to determine common themes. Key thematic findings for this study revealed that secondary educators teach their students to use social media to locate credible information, discover diverse opinions, establish a positive digital footprint, learn decision-making skills, amplify student voice, and increase civic engagement. The findings of this study could contribute to positive social change by influencing pedagogical practice and educational policy.

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