Teacher-Student Relationship and Facebook-Mediated Communication: Student Perceptions

Student-teacher relationships are vital to successful learning and teaching. Today, communication between students and teachers, a major component through which these relationships are facilitated, is taking place via social networking sites (SNS). In this study, we examined the associations between...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comunicar (Huelva, Spain) Spain), 2017, Vol.25 (53), p.91
Main Authors: Hershkovzt, Arnon, Forkosh-Baruch, Alona
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Comparative Analysis
Computer Mediated Communication
Correlation
Foreign Countries
High School Students
Likert Scales
Middle School Students
Middle School Teachers
Profiles
Questionnaires
School Policy
Secondary School Teachers
Social Media
Social Networks
Statistical Analysis
Student Attitudes
Teacher Characteristics
Teacher Student Relationship
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Summary:Student-teacher relationships are vital to successful learning and teaching. Today, communication between students and teachers, a major component through which these relationships are facilitated, is taking place via social networking sites (SNS). In this study, we examined the associations between student-teacher relationship and student-teacher Facebook-mediated communication. The study included Israeli middle- and high-school students, ages 12-19 years old (n=667). Student-teacher relationships were compared between sub-groups of students, based on their type of Facebook connection to their teachers (or the lack of such a connection); their attitudes towards a policy that prohibits Facebook connection with teachers; and their perceptions of using Facebook for learning. Regarding students' attitudes towards banning student-teacher communication via SNS and towards using Facebook for learning, we found significant differences between three groups of students: those who do not want to connect with their teachers on Facebook, those who are connected with a teacher of theirs on Facebook, and those who are not connected with a teacher of theirs but wish to connect. Also, we found significant associations between student-teacher relationship and student-teacher Facebook-mediated communication. We argue that in the case of student-teacher Facebook-mediated communication, there is a gap between students' expectations and in-practice experience. The key to closing this gap lies in both policy and effective implementation.
ISSN:1134-3478
DOI:10.3916/C53-2017-09