Using Facebook for Academic Purposes: Current Literature and Directions for Future Research

Abstract

This study reviews the international literature on using Facebook for academic purposes to examine whether and how this popular social networking site contributes to teaching and learning in formal education. A review of 57 empirical studies on this topic suggest that (a) the majority of studies report positive effects or feedback of using Facebook for academic purposes, and recommend its integration into teaching and learning; (b) Facebook is shown to be effective as a platform for academic communication and effective in promoting student-centered learning; (c) the effects of Facebook used as Learning Management System are mixed and under-studied; (d) the quality of Facebook-related learning process and learning outcomes is under-studied; (e) Facebook may not be suitable for teaching in all disciplines; and (f) studies heavily rely on preexperimental design and self-reported data, which raises the issue of response bias. It is recommended that future research should (a) focus more on in-depth examination of the process and quality of learning using Facebook, (b) adopt quasi-or true experimental design to control for confounding factors, (c) properly address potential response bias by minimizing the relationship between researcher and students, and (d) more frequently adopt content analysis to reduce reliance on self-reported data.

Facebook as a learning environment for language teaching and learning: A critical analysis of the literature from 2010 to 2017

“…As regards research design, this study extends Niu's () findings that majority of experimental studies on Facebook as a learning environment used the one‐group pretest–posttest design. The problem with this design is that improvement may not be readily attributable to the treatment itself but to other variables such as maturation, data collection bias, testing, attitude of participants, and implementation problems.…”

“…More recently, Niu () reviewed 57 empirical studies on the use of Facebook for academic purposes. They were categorized into four groups: teaching and learning tool, perception studies, influence on learning outcomes, and student‐initiated use of Facebook.…”

“…Most of them belong to young adult age group (Shepherd, ). The influence of Facebook on various fields has prompted scholars and educators to explore its potentials for pedagogical purposes (see Aydin, ; Manca & Ranieri, ; Manca & Ranieri, ; Niu, ; Yang, Wang, Woo, & Quek, ). One of these fields of interest is language teaching and learning.…”

“…Because of these opposing ideas, scholars may need to examine from available literature how Facebook is used in different contexts and to what extent and in what areas of education it is being used. To date, a number of thorough reviews have been carried out regarding the educational use of Facebook (i.e., Aydin, ; Chugh & Ruhi, ; Hew, ; Manca & Ranieri, ; Manca & Ranieri, ; Niu, ; Voivonta & Avraamidou, ; Yang et al, ). However, none of them have focused on the use of Facebook in language pedagogy.…”

Networking for Educational Innovations: A Bibliometric Survey of International Publication Patterns

“…Likewise, Chugh and Ruhi's (2018) narrative review pointed out that social media (e.g., Facebook) can be used as an educational tool to increase teacher-student and student-student interactions in higher education [11]. Niu (2019) further presented four research directions regarding the adoption of Facebook for academic purposes, including an in-depth examination of learning using Facebook, quasi-or true experimental design, the address of potential response bias, adoption of content analysis [12].…”