Perceived Helpfulness and Use of Social Media in Social Work Learning: A Survey of Social Work Students

Purpose: Social media has gained tremendous popularity among young adults over the last decade. A growing body of research has examined the usage of social media and effects of using social media on the social capital (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007), communication and interpersonal relationships (Pempek, Yermolayeva, & Calvert, 2009), and self-concept (Sponcil & Gitimu, 2012) among college students. However, relatively few studies have focused on the educational role of social media for learning. Even fewer studies have examined social work students’ use of social media and the effects of social media usage on their learning. This study aims to describe the usage of social media as an educational tool among social work students. It also aims to examine predictors for students’ perceived helpfulness of and the use of social media in future social work practice.

Methods: Students enrolled in the Fall 2014 Social Work Research course at a midwestern university were surveyed on their use of social media (N = 87). The “Social Media Perceptions and Use Questionnaire” was used to collect data, which includes the following questions: demographics, the extent of usage, perceived helpfulness in social work learning, attitude towards social media, and the future use of social media. Assessments of attitude towards social media as an educational tool, perceived helpfulness in social work learning, and the likelihood of using social media as a professional tool in future practice were conducted. Multivariate regression analyses were used to detect factors predicting students’ perceived helpfulness of, attitude towards, and future use of social media.  

Results: More than one-third of students (38%) reported they spent one to two hours on average per day on social media sites. Participants reported using Facebook the most (71%). Students who have past experience in using a social media site to assist class learning (b = 1.2, p<.05) and spend longer time on social media each day (b = 1.3, p<.05) are more likely to have a positive attitude towards social media. Attitude towards social media is positively associated with perceived helpfulness of social media in social work learning (b = .59, p<.000). Having higher perceived helpfulness (b = .19, p<.05), a more positive attitude (b = .74, p<.000), and a higher number of electronic devices (b = 2.23, p < .05) predict higher likelihoods of the use of social media in future social work practice.  

Conclusions and implications: The findings are consistent with Roblyer’s study (2010) which contends that social media could enhance learning. Students tend to show a favorable attitude towards social media as a useful learning tool if they have past experience in using social media in class learning. The positive relation between attitudes and perceived helpfulness of social media shows that attitudes might highly influence the outcomes of social media usage. The findings provide implications for social work educators to incorporate social media as a classroom support tool to support instruction. Educators might be more open to the use of social media instructionally and make use of this technology innovatively.