The invisible hand of informal (educational) communication!?: Social capital considerations on Twitter conversations among teachers

Martin Rehm () and Ad Notten
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Martin Rehm: UNU-MERIT, and University Duisburg–Essen

No 2016-052, MERIT Working Papers from United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT)

Abstract: Twitter can contribute to the continuous professional development of teachers by initiating and fostering informal learning. Social capital theory can aid to analyse the underlying communication processes and outcomes. Yet, previous research has largely neglected teachers and the role of social capital on Twitter. The present study addresses this shortcoming by analysing a hashtag conversation among German speaking teachers. Using social network analysis, we are able to show the relevance of the structural dimension of social capital in Twitter conversations among teachers.

Keywords: informal learning; teacher professional development; social capital; social network analysis; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 D85 I21 I28 O33 O35 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-09-14
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-soc
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:unm:unumer:2016052

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