Educators' Perceptions of an Online Educational Marketplace: Low Quality, Platform Flaws, and Neoliberal Forces on TeachersPayTeachers.com

• In Event: Teacher Agency, Attitudes, and Evaluation of Technology Integration

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand educators’ perspectives regarding challenges with the online educational marketplace, TeachersPayTeachers.com (TpT). Over 1,300 TpT users from across the United States and abroad completed an online survey, and their open-ended responses were qualitatively coded. Our interpretation of the data indicated that like scholars, educators also believe (a) online educational marketplace content can be of low quality, (b) platform features can be flawed and ineffective, and (c) this model of curricular exchange can reinforce harmful neoliberal forces. However, the depth at which educators described the downsides of platform biases and neoliberal logic were limited, perhaps due to their assumptions of platform neutrality.

Authors

• Catharyn Crane Shelton, Northern Arizona University

• Jeffrey P. Carpenter, Elon University