TY - JOUR
T1 - #REALTALK
T2 - Facebook Confessions pages as a data resource for academic and student support services at universities
AU - Sacks, Benjamin
AU - Gressier, Catie
AU - Maldon, Justine
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - University students frequently use campus Facebook Confessions pages to engage with their peers about their university experiences. This article explores the utility of Confessions pages in providing novel data to aid the development of student services generally, and academic skills support in particular. Through a qualitative thematic analysis of five universities’ Facebook Confessions pages over five years, our research demonstrates that these platforms provide valuable insights. Confessions data complement traditional research and evaluation approaches and enable academic skills advisors to tailor their practices in response to students’ expressed needs. Additionally, these pages offer valuable insights into student learning and engagement styles, with the shift toward active and group pedagogical styles clearly evident. Yet overt interventions are likely to be unwelcome and counterproductive. We therefore suggest that while some limited participation can be beneficial, ultimately university staff should remain passive users of data, rather than active participants.
AB - University students frequently use campus Facebook Confessions pages to engage with their peers about their university experiences. This article explores the utility of Confessions pages in providing novel data to aid the development of student services generally, and academic skills support in particular. Through a qualitative thematic analysis of five universities’ Facebook Confessions pages over five years, our research demonstrates that these platforms provide valuable insights. Confessions data complement traditional research and evaluation approaches and enable academic skills advisors to tailor their practices in response to students’ expressed needs. Additionally, these pages offer valuable insights into student learning and engagement styles, with the shift toward active and group pedagogical styles clearly evident. Yet overt interventions are likely to be unwelcome and counterproductive. We therefore suggest that while some limited participation can be beneficial, ultimately university staff should remain passive users of data, rather than active participants.
KW - Facebook Confessions
KW - student experience
KW - academic skills
KW - student support
KW - social networking sites
KW - academic learning advisors
KW - social media
UR - https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000667988500001
U2 - 10.1080/17439884.2021.1946559
DO - 10.1080/17439884.2021.1946559
M3 - Article
VL - 46
SP - 550
EP - 563
JO - Learning, Media and Technology
JF - Learning, Media and Technology
SN - 1743-9892
IS - 4
ER -