Teachers’ Use of Social Networks in Turkey: Educational Outcomes

Instead of opposing in-school and out-of-school learning, the advent of new learning technologies describes a pluralistic world in which out-of-school learning can complement in-school education. The purpose of this paper was to explore the profiles of primary and secondary school teachers’ use of social networks and to draw some outcomes depending on their views about the role of social networks in education. This research was based on phenomenological approach. The participants were determined by maximum variation sampling which is a type of purposeful sampling. The data were gathered by qualitative interviewing using standardized open-ended interviews. The data were analysed by content analysis technique using NVivo 10. The findings show that the primary and most common social media tool among respondents was social network websites. The findings indicated that teachers use social networks for educational issues such as for occupational problems, daily events of their schools, exam materials and branches thought directly and indirectly more than providing professional development. The results imply that teachers’ limited competency and awareness about how and why set a barrier in front of bridging a further step. Consequently, in the current use of social networks, teachers believed that they benefitted from social network sites by means of professional issues. In order to benefit social networks by means of educating students, teachers’ awareness and ICT competency should be developed.