Social Media and Higher Education: What are the Motivation for Social Media use by University Faculty Members in Ghana?

Abstract

Higher Education institutions (HEIs) exist within technological and social contexts worldwide. Universities have invested in technology and built the capacities of their staff for the improvement of faculty scholarship. Social media platforms such as social media that were initially designed and used for social interactions now have a considerable stake in higher education. University faculty members use social media platforms in their academic research. This study investigates the motivations for social media platform usage by university faculty members in Ghanaian universities and how the user can affect their academic productivity. This study adopted online questionnaires to collect the needed data from university faculty members. To have closer insights into the study’s subject matter. The researcher investigated the issue from 301 university lecturers, 5 randomly selected universities and 13 academic departments. Some key findings of this study indicate that the specific social media platforms used by faculty members are: WhatsApp, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, and Research Gate, with (57.1%) faculty members using WhatsApp to aid them in teaching and research. Faculty members also use social media to network with other scholars to share knowledge in their fields of expertise. Based on our findings, it can be concluded that the use of social media platforms enhances the faculty member’s academic productivity.