dr. josie ahlquist dissertation defense
TRANSCRIPT
student leadership, identity presentation &
decision-making on social media
Developing Digital Student Leaders!A mixed methods study of
California Lutheran University Josie Ahlquist
student leadership, identity presentation & decision-making on social media
Research Questions What role does social media play in the experiences of college student leaders?
What patterns of behavior exist for social media activity of college student leaders in how leadership, identity and decision-making are portrayed online?
Do the self-reported experiences of college student leaders represent
their actual behavior on social media?
College&Student&Leaders&
High&Users&
+/6&Impact&of&Social&Media&Use&
Digital&Educa?on?&
Iden?ty&Explora?on&
Leadership&Development&
Privacy&
Career&Bound&
! Literacies (Ng, 2012)
! Identity (Goode, 2010) (Junco, 2014)
! Citizenship (Greenhow & Robelia, 2009)
! Leadership (Lewis & Rush, 2013)
Digital
Student Identity
Development
Digital Identity
Digital Citizenship
Leadership Development
Social Change Model
Digital Literacies
Theory + Practice = Digital Leadership Research Framework
Chickering Seven Vectors
Developing&Competence&
Managing&Emo?ons&
Moving&through&autonomy&toward&Interdependence&
Developing&Mature&Interpersonal&Rela?onships&
Establishing&Iden?ty&
Developing&Purpose&
Developing&Integrity&
Collaboration Common Purpose
Controversy with Civility
Citizenship Consciousness of self
Congruence Commitment
Social Change Model
Individual Values
G r o u p V a l u e s
Community Values
Change
Mixed Methods Research Sequential Exploratory Design Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011 Tashakkori & Teddlie 1998; 2009
Sequenced PhasesPragmatic WorldviewTriangulation of data &Tell complete student leader social media story
Research Participants
• Two Universities • 40 Positional Student Leaders • Nominations from Supervisors/Advisors • Requirements
• Juniors & Seniors • One year in leadership-related role • Good standing in position • On at least two social media platforms
Student Leader A college student who is involved in a formal campus role/position for w h i c h t h e y w e re s e l e c t e d , nominated, hired or elected.
Mixed Methods: 3 Phases of Research
Phase I Qualitative
Collection of Focus Groups
Qualitative Analysis
Questionnaire Descriptive
Stats
Phase II Qualitative
Collection of Social Media
Grounded Theory Analysis
Development & Implementation of Social Media
Rubric
Quantitative Analysis
Phase III Mixed
Methods Analysis:
Matrix
5 Phase I Results
+ 5 Phase II Results
Phase II: Rubric Development & Social Media Activity
10-20% of Social Media Activity
Qualitative Grounded
Theory Analysis
Social Media Rubric
Develop & Implement Instrument
Quantitize Social Media Activity
Quantitative Analysis
Quantizing Data Defined by Teddlie and Tashakkori (2009) as “the process of converting qualitative data into numbers that can be statistically analyzed” (p. 27).
Decision Making: Level of Appropriateness • Appropriate • Blurry • Inappropriate
Observed Behaviors • Selfies - Group Photos - Object/Scenery - Leadership Position • Article/Video – Celebration – Life Event - Hobby/Interest • #TBT – Reflection – Interaction – Academic - Social Good
Displayed Identity through Relationships • Self • Family – Friends - Peer Leaders/Their Students – Intimacy • Faculty/Staff
Social Change Model • All Seven Values
Social Media Rubric
Phase III: Mixed Model Analysis
Phase&III&Matrix&
Five&Phase&I&Results&
Five&Phase&II&Results&
(Huberman & Miles, 1983)(Miles & Huberman, 1994)
(Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2004)
Guidance from Student Affairs • Informal Agreements • Training Sessions • Formal Expectations • Explicit Contracts • What not to do
-Senior Resident Assistant & Student Government Communications Chair
“I’ve always been told what not to do on social media. But I’ve never heard what they want me doing.”
“Perception is everything, right? So people make assumptions based on a first interaction with you. So if you post something that would make you seem bad, people judge in a second you know. You can lose someone's trust over one thing that you say…”
“So I think for me, it's all about perception. You never know who is watching. You're always on stage.”
“I just noticed that as people got more guarded and things
became more fabricated and more generic. It used to be
more fun because you could really understand the person
that was posting.
Now everyone is really afraid to really show anything because we don't want to upset other people, or they don't want to instigate anything.”
Student Public Figure
To the University
Their Families
Future Generations
Social Media Responsibility
“As a student leader, you become detached from social media… In the past, social media was used to express who you are freely.”
“However, now social media has become our own paparazzi, so as a student leader you’ve become what others expect you to be… Everything personal about yourself seems to become shameful because you have to private everything and no one can see who you really are.”
Collaboration Common Purpose
Controversy with Civility
Citizenship Consciousness of self
Congruence Commitment
Social Change Model
Individual Values
G r o u p V a l u e s
Community Values
Change
Students Leaders were presenting…
Individual Values on Social Media
Consciousness of Self
Commitment
• Consciousness of Self • Congruence • Commitment • Common Purpose • Citizenship
acebook
than Instagram
more likely to include:
student leadership, identity presentation &
decision-making on social media
Significance of !college social media guidance!
Participants who reported a regret on social media were now more likely to:
• Post more appropriately• Post more content related to the values
of the Social Change Model
Social Media Guidance in college will make student leaders more likely • To post more appropriately
• To post content positively about their leadership positions
• To post content related to the values of the Social Change Model
• Start Holistic Digital Education Interventions Early
• Build an Army of Digital Educators
• Group and Community Digital Leadership Skills
• Positive and Possibilities Approaches
Implications for Practice
Implications for Theory
• Social Change Model individual values present on social media
• Chickering’s Seven
Vectors confirmed: identity presentation through relationships
Chickering Seven Vectors
Developing&Competence&
Managing&Emo?ons&
Moving&through&autonomy&toward&Interdependence&
Developing&Mature&Interpersonal&Rela?onships&
Establishing&Iden?ty&
Developing&Purpose&
Developing&Integrity&
• Language: guidelines instead of policies
• Decrease fear tactics
Implications for Policy
• Student leader contracts with positive language
• Inclusion of students in department & university policy development
Future Research Wish List ! Validate Social Media Rubric
! Gather every post in set time period
! Add individual interviews with participants
! Development of a research team &&
Future Research Needs • Experimental studies with digital education
interventions
• Grounded theory approach of digital identity presentation
• SnapChat ethnographic methodology
• Social media practices of positive social activists