Teachers' attitudes towards social media (SM) use in online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic: the effects of SM use by teachers and religious scholars during physical distancing

Heliyon

Fozia Ahmed Baloch¹  Gulab Khan Khilji²  Siraj Bashir³  Tariq Shah⁴  Muhammad Jaffar⁵  Nazir Ahmed Jogezai⁶ 

[1] Corresponding author.;Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Pakistan;Bureau of Curriculum, Education Department, Government of Balochistan, Pakistan;Department of Economics, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Pakistan;Department of Education, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Pakistan;Education Department, Government of Balochistan, Pakistan;

关键词: COVID-19;    Pandemic;    Physical distancing;    Online learning;    Social media;    Attitude;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The adoption of physical distancing and quarantine amid the COVID-19 pandemic to contain virus spread has left the world with schools' closure. In response, schools have shifted into online learning in developed societies while the developing world struggles to opt for online learning due to limited infrastructure and capacity and religious beliefs, in some communities, that discourage online learning. However, there has been a significant increase in the use of Social Media (SM) observed across developing and developed societies and religious communities amid physical distancing. This study was conducted to explore the possibility of SM use in online learning by exploring teachers' attitudes in relation to the effects of physical distancing and increased SM use, SM knowledge and religious leaders' SM use. In a quantitative investigation method, the researchers used a questionnaire as a primary tool to collect the data from 252 teachers of both public and private schools. Partial Least Square Structural Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used as an analysis method to assess and measure the proposed model. The findings are significant to inform how physical distancing amid the pandemic has influenced teachers' attitudes to opt for social media use in online learning. The findings have implications for teachers worldwide, particularly in developing countries, to switch to online learning using SM under challenging situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.

【 授权许可】

Unknown