Jun 1, 2015 - Engaging Students Through Social Media: Evidence-Based. Practices for Use in .... media listening: getting a pulse on student life, issues, and ...
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Journal of College Student Development, Volume 56, Number 3, April 2015, pp. 313-316 (Review) 3XEOLVKHGE\-RKQV+RSNLQV8QLYHUVLW\3UHVV DOI: 10.1353/csd.2015.0028
For additional information about this article http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/csd/summary/v056/56.3.eaton.html
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Book Reviews
the concluding chapter, Gardner and Barker remind readers that engagement is not limited to undergraduate students and outline factors that help socialize graduate students to the norms and values of graduate education Student Engagement in Higher Education provides a unique assortment of chapters on various student populations. Written by experts, all of the chapters offer research-based and theory-informed strategies to engage students. The breadth of contributing authors’ backgrounds (e.g., faculty, student affairs practitioners, administrators, students) adds to the insightfulness of these strategies. In addition, several chapters model collaborative efforts between faculty and students, demon strating how to engage students in meaningful out-of-classroom experiences. While this volume adds considerably to the higher education knowledge base, one limitation stands out: each chapter was designed to address one particular student population, making it less apparent that to best understand today’s college students, one must take into consideration students’ multiple identities and the sociocultural factors influencing their experiences (i.e. readers must read chapters in this volume in conjunction with one another). Acknowledging the inherent complexity of students’ diversity, several authors utilize intersectionality as a theoretical framework. These chapters offer the most holistic representations of today’s students, and their engagement strategies tend to be the most robust because they address students’ multiple selves. Overall, there is some redundancy with respect to the recommendations offered, further underscoring why a more intersectional approach might have been warranted. This book highlights the kinds of conver sations needed on our campuses. A common theme is the suggestion that more educational and professional development opportunities are needed to learn about various student
populations and the experiences that shape their engagement. The fact that so many authors— from different institutions—offer similar recommendations suggests either that such conversations are not taking place on college campuses, or that they are only marginally supported. This text provides an excellent starting point for faculty, administrators, students, and others genuinely concerned about improving the collegiate experiences of students in institutions of higher education. u
Engaging Students Through Social Media: Evidence-Based Practices for Use in Student Affairs Reynol Junco San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, 2014, $19.99 (Kindle edition)
Reviewed by Paul William Eaton, Louisiana State University
In the book, Engaging Students Through Social Media: Evidence-Based Practices for Use in Student Affairs, Reynol Junco builds on previous research and scholarship (Junco & Mastrodicasa, 2007; Junco & Timm, 2008), highlighting the need for informed, balanced approaches toward integrating social media into educational practices across student affairs. Junco’s central theses are: (a) there is little evidence-based research being conducted on the educational impacts of social media in higher education and student affairs; (b) hyperbolic misrepresentation and misunderstanding of research leads educators, practitioners, and institutions to adopt reticent attitudes toward incorporating social media in educationally and pedagogically relevant ways; and (c) adult normative perspectives often fuel such misrepresentations and mis understandings, overpowering important lessons practitioners and researchers might learn from youth, where social media is
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Book Reviews
viewed as normative (a point also made by other prominent social media researchers such as boyd, 2014; Papacharissi, 2011; Poletti & Rak, 2014). Junco (2014) aims to “help student affairs practitioners as well as other higher education professionals see the value of social media use with students” (Preface, Section 2, para. 1), while also articulating the need of graduate preparation programs, professional associations, and already established educators to expand understanding and integration of social media and technological literacy into their repertoire of professional competencies and skills. In her Forward, Mary Madden of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project describes Junco’s qualifications and background as a social media researcher, tracing his trajectory as one of the first researchers and practitioners to think about harnessing social media in educationally relevant ways. Today, Junco’s data-driven, empirically grounded research challenges simplistic understandings about the impact of social media. As Madden suggests, Junco’s book leaves readers “with a mountain of thoughtful evidence” (Foreward, para. 17) surrounding the possibilities and limitations of the social media and network revolution for student affairs practice. Junco acknowledges his grounding and preference for quantitative research, while highlighting the importance of conducting qualitative research on social media to better gauge youth-normative perspectives on social media practices and culture. The book is accessible to those unfamiliar with social media, as well as highly engaged social media users. In chapter 1, Junco explains why student affairs educators should research social media. The vast number of social media platforms, social media’s continuously evolving nature, increasing use of mobile technology devices, and already established connections between social media use and 314
outcomes traditionally rooted in student affairs educational practices are all cited as relevant rationale for enhanced research and understanding. Defining social media as “applications, services, and systems that allow users to create, remix, and share content” (Junco, 2014, chapter 1, section 2, para. 1), the author provides historical background and informa tion on digital architectural affordances of popular and emerging present-day social media sites: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Vine, Pinterest, and Snapchat. Importantly, Junco problematizes popular technological discourse, including concepts such as the digital divide and digital nativity, highlighting that social media often reflect or exacerbate real-life social inequalities, and that patterns of social media adoption and use vary for youth based on variables such as race, class, gender, sexual orientation, spiritual or religious affiliation, and other social constructs. Junco reminds practitioners that access to technology and social media does not necessarily equate to digital literacy. Therefore, simple incorporation of technology into classroom or student affairs educational interventions may not always yield desired outcomes. As a result, selecting social media platforms for educational interventions becomes important both in structuring the aim of educational interventions and in accounting for student access to the intervention. Most importantly, interventions should be designed with specific outcomes in mind, with the aim of assessing or enhancing their impact. For these reasons, Junco articulates the importance of conducting research on interventions utilizing social media. Disseminating findings, critically engaging research, and being open to the possibility that social media may not yield desired results are all critical responsibilities of student affairs practitioners in the digital age. Chapter 2 begins by examining evidence of social media use on a variety of outcomes traditionally associated with student affairs Journal of College Student Development
Book Reviews
practice. For example, Junco outlines studies demonstrating the impact of Facebook on student engagement, noting “it’s not using Facebook that is related to engagement; it’s how students use the site that more strongly predicts benefits or drawbacks” (Junco, 2014, chapter 2, section 5, para. 6). This chapter also presents research on social and academic integration, and the potential dangers associated with use of technology among college students. The relationship between social media use and psychosocial, racial, cultural, and sexual identity development are explored in chapter 3. Junco roots these discussions in traditional student development theories. Further, the author examines the distinction between true identity, pseudonymity, and anonymity, as well as online self-presentation (sometimes referred to as digital identity). Dispelling myths and adult-normative concerns surrounding privacy, Junco takes the position that, to a certain degree, educators and practitioners should embrace and encourage anonymity and pseudonymity in social media. Public sharing of information on social media, often attributed to the online disinhibition effect, may actually propel and assist students with developmental tasks, ultimately leading to stable, established identity. In chapter 4, Junco provides examples of student affairs interventions designed to assist with informal learning and responding to student needs. One benefit of incorporating social media into campus life, according to Junco, is the opportunity to engage in social media listening: getting a pulse on student life, issues, and anticipating challenges in order to respond appropriately. Incorporating social media into formal learning environments, such as classrooms, is the focus of chapter 5. Elaborating on examples from chapter 4 and 5, chapter 6 highlights the actual process of planning, implementing, and assessing
social media interventions. All effective interventions are rooted in theory, enlist broad-based support, and ensure adequate training of staff and instructors engaged with a particular intervention. As in chapter 2, Junco calls on educators to ensure strong research and assessment designs, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of results. In chapter 7, Junco discusses the impor tance of social media for continuing profes sional development of student affairs educators. He calls for professionals to establish personal learning networks—especially through engagem ent with scholars and advanced administrators—and calls on professionals to model appropriate civic and professional behavior through engagement with students on social media. Finally, chapter 8 looks ahead to the future of social media and technological innovation. Junco believes learning analytics and trace analytics—predicting and planning individual interventions based on behavior— will be important new arenas in future practice. This book’s contribution is Junco’s con sistent caution against misinterpreting research on social media use and educational outcomes. He calls on student affairs practitioners to be critical consumers and producers of research on and through social media. Throughout, Junco elaborates on the important distinctions between correlational and experimental research design, articulates important differ ences between descriptive and inferential statistics, research concepts such as reliability and validity, and the role of qualitative research in advancing understanding on social media use among students. For practitioners not familiar with advanced research design, the author provides practical tips for reading, engaging, and properly interpreting research. This is particularly true in chapters 2 and 6. Engaging Students Through Social Media challenges student affairs professionals to gaze beyond the hypnotic nature of social media
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Book Reviews Junco, R., & Timm, D. M. (Eds.). (2008). Using emerging technologies to enhance student engagement. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Junco, R., & Mastrodicasa, J. (2007). Connecting to the net. generation: What higher education professionals need to know about today’s students. Washington, DC: National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Papacharissi, Z. (Ed.). (2011). A networked self: Identity, community, and culture on social network sites. New York, NY: Routledge. Pempek. A., & Rak, J. (Eds.). (2014). Identity technologies: Constructing the self online. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
and technological advancements, advocating for evidence-based interventions, continuous consistent research, and inquisitive openminded questioning of youth engaged across digital landscapes.
References boyd, d. (2014). It’s complicated: The social lives of networked teens. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
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