Social Media for Teaching and Learning: A Technology Acceptance Model Analysis of Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the adoption of lockdowns, social distancing, and quarantines as measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, forcing education spaces in both developed and developing economies to suddenly shift towards adoption of emergency online teaching and learning. However, developing economies were lagging in the migration to online teaching and learning strategies due to incapacity and lack of resources such as formal learning management systems (LMS) that support the migration. Social media use has been identified as an alternative given the sharp rise in social media (SM) presence and activities around the world by individuals of different age, regardless of economic status, during the lockdowns. A few studies have been conducted on the perceptions of SM use by preservice teachers in a developing country context. Through the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study applied a mixed methods approach to examine perceptions of preservice teachers on SM use in teaching during the practice periods. Results revealed that preservice teachers perceived SM platforms as mainly for social purposes rather than educational purposes, despite their high usage of WhatsApp and YouTube. The study recommends initiatives to change preservice teachers’ mindset as part of teachers’ professional development to get them to appreciate the usefulness of SM platforms in education contexts.