Chelsey Barber and Ioana Literat
A key social networking site for teachers, TikTok offers a new and valuable lens on educator attrition. This study aims to explore social media’s role in the increased…
Abstract
Purpose
A key social networking site for teachers, TikTok offers a new and valuable lens on educator attrition. This study aims to explore social media’s role in the increased transparency around leaving the profession and the online narratives crafted around transitioning out of the classroom.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the conceptual framework of emergent storytelling and a recursive thematic analysis of videos and comments posted to the #teacherquittok hashtag on TikTok, this study examines how teachers are using social media to share their experiences of exiting the classroom.
Findings
The authors find that teachers used TikTok to share personal accounts that form a meta-narrative that provides context to their decisions to leave, share stories of loss and gain through negotiating the transition out of the classroom and finally debate the implications for preservice teachers. The authors discuss key takeaways for rethinking teacher support, teacher education and the role of social media in teachers’ professional lives.
Originality/value
While many studies seek to understand teacher attrition, this work examines how teachers’ stories shared on social media may be shaping attrition into an increasingly networked and narrated act.
Details
Keywords
Social media is increasingly vital for educators to extend their professional networks and engage in meaningful conversations. This study aims to explore how Reddit facilitates…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media is increasingly vital for educators to extend their professional networks and engage in meaningful conversations. This study aims to explore how Reddit facilitates these interactions as a platform for generative dialogical exchange. For English educators, generative dialogue is paramount for professional development and classroom practice.
Design/methodology/approach
To better understand this dynamic, we outline Hermans and Hermans-Konopka’s (2010) framework of generative dialogical exchange, review relevant literature related to the implications of social media use by educators and argue for the importance of Reddit as a site of exploration into dialogical exchange. After describing our artifact selection, we offer relevant data and conclude with understanding and implications.
Findings
We argue that although online educator communities, particularly those on Reddit, offer opportunities for broad dialogical exchange for English educators, these can be marked by a push and pull between the expansion of the dialogical space and a tendency to rein it back in through reinforcing traditional power dynamics.
Originality/value
Reddit is an understudied site for extending professional networks and fostering conversations among educators, providing a novel approach to understanding these dynamics through dialogical theory.