The wild west of policy making : a discourse analysis of primary and secondary schools' social media policies

Abstract

Social media has become a technology that is increasingly shaping how young people connect, socialize, and learn (Ahn, 2011). Many educators and administrators endeavour to understand how this communications tool has evolved and is used. While some steer clear of it as a tool for teaching and learning, others grapple with how to employ its interactive, participatory potential in the classroom. Primary and secondary school administrators around the world have begun to create policies to delineate the use of social media in classrooms. However others continue to struggle with how to do so and many others have not even begun. Through a qualitative analysis of four distinct social media policies from the United States, this thesis examines extant discursive themes and discourses, and demonstrates how more schools, boards, and districts can develop their own policies to implement this potent teaching and learning tool for the benefit of students, the overwhelming majority of whom are already engaged in social media.