Applying a Critical Lens to Teachers' Use of Social Media for Civic Education.

Traditional civic education in the U.S. often does not meet the needs of students. Whether through outdated or uninspiring methods or by functionally disenfranchising students who are not part of the predominant power structure, mainstream civic education maintains hegemonic structures and, in turn, systems of oppression. Scholars have argued that reconceptualizing citizenship is an important component to addressing these shortcomings. Further, an increased use of social media as a tool for new forms of civic participation has been observed, but little research has been done to examine how teachers are using these platforms in their teaching of civics. This study explored high school social studies teachers' conceptualizations of citizenship and their use of the social media platform, Twitter, with their students for civic education. Findings showed that teachers' conceptions of citizenship were influenced by their local context: teachers observed geographic or racial barriers for their students' civic participation, which informed how they understood and taught about civic participation. Teachers' use of Twitter was intended to provide ways for students to disrupt the systems that established these barriers; however, teachers' practice of using Twitter did not always align with their intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]