Teachers' Use of Instagram: An Empirical Investigation of Antecedents and Consequences

• In Event: A Multifaceted Perspective on Current Approaches for High-Quality Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

Purpose. Increased social media use is an important phenomenon that influences teacher learning in the 21st century (Greenhow et al., 2020). However, use of the photo and video sharing platform Instagram by educators has received relatively little attention from researchers (Carpenter et al., 2020; Barrot, 2021; Shelton et al. 2020). Therefore, this study investigates teachers’ use of Instagram and what support they receive through different uses. In addition, we also examine the relationships between teachers’ use of Instagram and their self-efficacy and enthusiasm for teaching.

Perspective. Research has demonstrated that social media platforms have the potential to facilitate high-quality professional learning for teachers by allowing them to seek support for their needs (Greenhalgh & Koehler, 2017; Torphy et al., 2020). However, teachers differ in how they use social media platforms (Carpenter et al., 2020), and thus how they might benefit from those uses (Greenhow et al., 2020). This makes it necessary to take a differentiated view of teacher social media activity structures. Also, differences in use could be associated with characteristics of the individual, such as their self-efficacy or enthusiasm (Oh & Syn, 2015).

Methods and Data. We conducted an online survey of teachers who actively use Instagram for professional purposes. The survey was sent to a purposeful group of German educational influencers who subsequently posted the link to the survey from their accounts. Through this strategy, we were able to collect data from 249 teachers from Germany. The average age of participants was 32.0 years, with 97% female and 60% working at elementary schools.
To assess teachers' Instagram activities, we used 10 items that distinguished between three different actions: information seeking, information sharing and coworking (see Conze et al., 2020). We also collected data on self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1999), teachers’ enthusiasm for teaching (Kunter et al., 2008), and on their perceptions of emotional, informational, and instrumental support (Kunter et al., 2010). We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the construct validity of the instrument. We then estimated two multiple regression models.

Results. Based on our results, we can reliably differentiate three different forms of Instagram use: sharing information, seeking information, and coworking. We can also show that self-efficacy is related only to information sharing, and enthusiasm is related only to information seeking. We see that individuals who use Instagram differently perceive different kinds of associated support. Only teachers who share information perceive emotional support through Instagram. In addition, individuals who share information on Instagram report also receiving informational support. Finally, instrumental support is provided to individuals who are either seeking information or coworking with others on Instagram.

Scholarly Significance. This first-of-its-kind study of Instagram regarding applied methodological approach demonstrates that teachers use the platform for different purposes. We also describe the characteristics of teachers who tend to use Instagram for sharing and seeking information and for coworking. In conclusion, Instagram can support teachers’ professional learning but for the majority it appears to serve as an information resource.

Authors

• Eric Richter, Universität Potsdam

• Jeffrey P. Carpenter, Elon University

• Dirk Richter, University of Potsdam