Online Social Movement Learning and Education: A Systematic Literature Review

• In Event: Activism in education: teacher advocacy and social movements

Proposal

Online spaces have been recognized as new platforms to initiate social movements and organize people (Brunsting & Postmes, 2002). These spaces are also identified as places where learning and education related to social movements occur (Jubas, 2023; Simões et al., 2021). Especially, in the adult education field, learning and education in social movements have been paid attention to (Atta & Holst, 2023; Kuk & Tarlau, 2020; Niesz et al., 2018). However, the attempt to understand how online space contributes to them is lacking. My systematic literature review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of empirical studies on online social movement learning and education (OSMLE) for adults, focusing on the benefits of utilizing online platforms for OSMLE. By reviewing journals across several disciplines, this analysis can offer insights into how online spaces can be used to facilitate learning and education within social movements.
Research Design
To choose the appropriate approach for this literature review, I followed the guidelines by Booth et al. (2016). I employed an aggregative approach, gathering themes from various studies and organizing them side by side to synthesize qualitative evidence. The aggregative approach is characterized by (i) a concentration on summarizing data, and (ii) a presumption that the concepts (or variables in a quantitative context) 'under which those facts are to be summarised are mostly secure and well stated' (Dixon-Woods et al., 2006).
I followed a selective sampling strategy (Heyvaert et al., 2017) and searched for studies exclusively in bibliographic databases. In November 2023, I used Scopus to explore multidisciplinary research on learning and education in social movements. After reviewing relevant articles, I identified research terms aligned with the topics of interest. I retrieved literature using the following search terms: (online* OR “social media” OR internet*) AND (learn* OR educat*) AND (“social movement*” OR activism*) in titles, abstracts, and keywords, while excluding terms like “machine learning” and “deep learning.”
Studies were included in the review if they met the following criteria: 1) They were published in English in journals. 2) They addressed learning and education. 3) Learning occurs in online spaces. 4) Adult participants were involved. 5) The context was social movement settings. 6) The studies were empirical. I initially screened the titles and abstracts of 457 retrieved publications and excluding 423 articles. I then assessed 34 full texts to determine whether the articles met the criteria. Ultimately, 18 research articles published between 2011-2023 were included in this review based on the selection criteria.
For an overview, I extracted the study's geographic location, objectives, design and methodology, setting, participants, and conclusions from the publications and organized them into a tabular format with publication year and authors. To analyze the advantages of online spaces for social movement learning and education, I conducted a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) using MAXQDA 2022 to create and cluster codes.
Findings
The review covered studies conducted in various countries using diverse research designs: ten qualitative, seven mixed-method, and one quantitative. These studies examined a range of social movements, including environmental, feminist, economic, peace, anti-fascism, political, animal rights, digital rights, homeowner, and food security movements. Eight studies focused on how social movements utilize online spaces for education, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, while ten studies explored how individuals learn in these online environments. The research targeted different groups, including activists, the general public, newcomers to activism, and, in one case, scholars and K-12 teachers. The studies were published across disciplines like education, media, communication, sociology, and behavioral sciences. Twitter was the most frequently mentioned platform, followed by Facebook, websites, blogs, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, virtual reality, Zoom, webinars, and various applications.
Through the thematic analysis, I found key themes in the benefits of online space: immediacy, accessibility, and connectedness. First, immediacy refers to the ability of online spaces to enable direct and real-time communication. This helps expedite the spread of information, such as news, issues, and events (Gleason, 2018, p. 284; Smith, 2015, p. 153). Through apps like Messenger, synchronous communication fosters intimacy by creating a sense of being present with others and togetherness before face-to-face interaction (Lengauer, 2022).
Second, accessibility refers to the ease with which online spaces can be accessed compared to other mediums. It facilitates the widespread sharing of information among social movement participants. Most of the literature highlighted the role of online spaces in providing knowledge to activists or the public. This includes sharing experiences, planning protests, and offering expert advice. Beyond mentioning sharing knowledge, some studies explored why participants chose to share knowledge, particularly based on their own experiences (Smith, 2015), and how this sharing impacted activists' identity development (Gleason, 2018). Accessibility makes it possible for social movements to encounter a broader audience and recruit new participants (Vea, 2020, p. 1596). Especially, online social media provided easier access than traditional news outlets (Uwalaka, 2022).
Third, connectedness refers to the role of online spaces in linking participants. Online spaces enhance the ability to build communities without the need for physical proximity (Lee & Knott, 2022; Smith, 2015) while also complementing offline efforts (Hetrick et al., 2020). Features like retweeting build bridges across diverse groups, uniting them for a common cause (Mercea & Yilmaz, 2018). Hashtags also facilitate engagement in discussions or actions (Gleason, 2018, p. 284), and following hashtags can lead to active participation in movements (Ley & Brewer, 2018, p. 6).
Conclusions
The reviewed studies provide an overview of research and the benefits of online spaces for OSMLE. Although these three benefits—immediacy, accessibility, and connectedness—are distinct, they often overlap in practice, creating an interactive dynamic that enhances the use of online spaces for social movement learning and education. Future research could further explore the limitations and challenges of using online spaces in this context, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of OSMLE.

Author

• Junghyun Kim, The Pennsylvania State University