"That Middle School Is Trash!!!!" Public Knowledge About Local Schools on Social Media

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 12:40 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Family Responses to School Choice Policies (Table 19)

Abstract

The public often makes judgements about schools and what happens within them, despite rarely, if ever, setting foot inside of one. Increasingly, the public has relied on social media as a one-stop-shop for news and information. This case study examines two years’ worth of data from a private Facebook group to better understand the process of knowledge construction about local schools on social media platforms. This study finds that emotionally charged posts about first-hand experiences, which often portray the local schools negatively, garner substantially higher levels of engagement than other types of posts. Moreover, special interest actors, usually White moms, are able to harness public desire for “hot” knowledge and the power of the algorithm to promote their own agendas.

Author

• Ashley J. Carey, Sacred Heart University