Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education (JCIE)
Not a member yet
245 research outputs found
Sort by
Professionalism and Professional Ethics: Representative Perspectives of Social Researchers in Vietnam
Professionalism has always been an influential concept in the social sciences. However, its definition and characteristics constantly require cross-checking and modification to adapt to the growing multifaceted contexts in modern times. This paper offers a small-scale qualitative study examining the perceptions of professionalism and professional ethics of the social research community in Vietnam to understand and acknowledge their contextual conditions and hardships. The findings reveal the complex situation of social researchers in Vietnam, which demands that they respond to external pressures and requirements while maintaining professional ethics and good consciousness. Locally, two corresponding issues are highlighted: unsatisfactory education and training and a lack of motivation for long-term changes. More broadly, the paper proposes a theory of selective motivations and a set of extensive tools, adapted from existing literature, to effectively address professionalism from a marginalized perspective.
Students With and Without Disabilities Using Social Media: Relationship Benefits and Implications for Education
A pandemic in 2020 resulted in economic and social disruption of unprecedented scale. Social distancing — or physical distancing while in public spaces — was required, and social media usage spiked globally as people turned to these online spaces for information and connection. Today’s postsecondary students, in particular, are frequently immersed in social media; it can offer them social supports, such as a greater sense of belonging during times of transition and crisis, but also inherent risks, including cyberbullying and online harassment. Although many studies have examined the social connections or supports for learning that college students without disabilities experience by using social media, few studies have explored these phenomena among college students with disabilities, including neurodevelopmental disabilities such as anxiety disorders (e.g., social anxiety, autism, attention deficit disorder) that make socialization difficult for these young adults. It is important that educational research advances understanding of the socialization experiences of these students with disabilities because students’ sense of belonging and peer support is critical to their engagement and success in K-12 and postsecondary schooling
Introduction – Professionalism, Incivility, and Social Media: Educational Foundations in Digital Times
What\u27s Really at Stake? Insights from Nova Scotia Teachers’ Use of Social Media during Collective Bargaining
This study uses the case of the 2015-17 contract negotiations between the Government of Nova Scotia (Canada) and the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union to understand (1) how the Government, the union, and individual educators framed the issues at stake in negotiations, and (2) how those perspectives were represented in traditional and social media. To answer these questions, I conducted two unique content analyses of news releases, social media posts, and traditional digital media over the course of negotiations. Results show that educators used social media to frame their work explicitly in terms of caring labour and to communicate with specificity and urgency the toll of their working conditions on their ability to meet the needs of their students and maintain their own well-being. However, active educators’ voices were rarely included in traditional media. These findings show that using social media does not guarantee that teachers’ perspectives will influence the broader public discourse. Moreover, they suggest that to the extent that care frames are employed in teachers’ strikes, it may be important for unions to develop an official campaign—in collaboration with rank-and-file educators—that is centred around care
How Can Academics Engage as Public Intellectuals on Social Media Platforms? A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of Social Media Guidelines
This paper examines how university policies are written to regulate the conduct of academics on social media, particularly the extent to which academics are discouraged from acting as public intellectuals on social media. Drawing on Michel Foucault, we analyze the social media guidelines developed by Canada’s 15 research-intensive universities, known as the U15. Our analysis illuminates that the guidelines articulate particular power relations between academics and their universities – relations that are increasingly influenced by the corporatization of higher education in the era of neoliberalism. We argue that social media guidelines represent emblematic discourses that discipline academics working in highly corporatized universities. Faculty may thus be less inclined to act as public intellectuals
Teacher Identities in the Digital Age: A Cross-Provincial Analysis of Social Media Guidance for Educators
This paper examines employer policies and professional organization guidelines governing teacher use of social media across four Canadian provinces: New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. Findings indicate that current policies and guidance often overlook the nuanced role social media plays in shaping teacher identities, focusing instead on risk management and narrow definitions of professionalism. This study advocates for policies that better reflect the complexities of teacher identity formation within digital spaces, highlighting the need for supportive guidance that empowers educators in their online interactions. By addressing this gap, the study lays a foundation for future research and offers practical implications for teachers, employers, and policymakers committed to fostering constructive digital engagement and teacher identity development
The Role of Principals in Enhancing Teacher Well-being in Schools in Rural Communities
This study sought to understand the factors that teachers and school management team members perceived as having the potential to boost teacher well-being in rural schools and the role the principal plays in promoting teacher well-being. A stratified sample of school managers and teachers from a rural high school in the Mopani district of the Limpopo province participated. A total of fourteen semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with seven teachers, yielding four enablers to teacher well-being and three roles which principals could play to support teacher well-being. The findings revealed that strong principal-teacher relationships, disengaging from work to socialize, adaptability, and a green school physical environment promote teacher well-being. The role of the principal in supporting teacher well-being is multi-faceted, encompassing the creation of a positive school culture and traditions, developing and maintaining a conducive green school environment, and promoting teacher adaptability
Building Critical Digital Literacies for Social Media through Educational Development
Conceptions of critical digital pedagogy extend the tenets of critical pedagogy for the study and use of digital technologies. Engaging with foundations of critical pedagogy as they apply to digital spaces, including social media, the purpose of this article is to explore how critical digital literacies can inform and be enacted in educators’ learning and development, with a focus on post-secondary contexts. Through an analysis of GIFs and memes that are frequently shared on social media, the author considers potential entryways for building critical digital literacies in teaching and learning. Using a critically reflective approach, the author makes connections between recent scholarship in these areas, as well as her own research of digital literacies, and examples from educational development practice that aim to promote criticality in action