How Preservice Teachers Learn About Social Justice Through Social Media

• In Event: Promising Pedagogy in Preservice Teacher Education

Abstract

This presentation reports on a study of how pre-service teachers connect with ideas about equity, social justice, and diversity in online spaces. This study combined an initial survey and interviews of pre-service teachers to examine how they connected with equity-oriented ideas through social media. Preliminary analysis reveals a variety of platforms and formats are used and the sense-making process is often complex as ideas are communicated in visual, non-linear, and truncated ways. Additionally, there is a bifurcation where some pre-service teachers utilize the platforms for online activism, which connects to their offline lives, whereas others passively observe the activism of others. Discussion of this presentation will include how social media might be integrated in classrooms and coursework to support activist development.

Author

• Rebecca Buchanan, University of Maine