Dr. Josie Ahlquist Dissertation Defense
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Developing Digital Student Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study of Student Leadership, Identity and Decision Making on Social Media Social media tools permeate the college student experience (Junco, 2014), including for those students who hold leadership positions on campus. The purpose of this study was to document the experiences and online behaviors of 40 junior and senior student leaders on digital communication tools. The study was conducted at two institutions in the western United States. Three research questions guided the sequential exploratory mixed methods study connecting student leadership, the presentation of identity, and decision-making with social media use. The study involved a three phase mixed methods analysis of focus group interviews and 2,220 social media posts. Five major findings surfaced, including (a) social media impact starting in K-12 (b) college student leaders’ navigation of social media (c) presentation of digital identity (d) the beginning of leadership presence and possibilities and (e) significance of social media guidance in college. These findings suggest college student educators should implement holistic digital leadership education. Initiatives should begin early, prior to student enrollment in higher education, focusing on identity expression, positive possibilities-based perspectives, with a focus on social media’s potential impact on student groups, social communities, and social change. Findings from this study can mobilize higher education professionals, student peers, and parents to become digital educators, providing tools for students to implement in their digital practices.
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Dr. Josie Ahlquist Dissertation Defense
- 1. 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
- 2. Special thanks to my committee Dr. Edlyn Pena, Dr. John Hoffman & Dr. Diane Rodriguez-Klino
- 3. How is social media part of the college experience?
- 4. Does higher education provide a road map? What does a digital student leader look like?
- 5. How are you navigating social media? Do you consider yourself a leader in person and online?
- 6. 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?
- 7. Do the self-reported experiences of college student leaders represent their actual behavior on social media?
- 9. ! Literacies (Ng, 2012) ! Identity (Goode, 2010) (Junco, 2014) ! Citizenship (Greenhow & Robelia, 2009) ! Leadership (Lewis & Rush, 2013) Digital
- 10. Student Identity Development Digital Identity Digital Citizenship Leadership Development Social Change Model Digital Literacies Theory + Practice = Digital Leadership Research Framework
- 12. Collaboration Common Purpose Controversy with Civility Citizenship Consciousness of self Congruence Commitment Social Change Model Individual Values G r o u p Va l u e s Community Values Change
- 13. Mixed Methods Research Sequential Exploratory Design Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011 Tashakkori & Teddlie 1998; 2009 Sequenced Phases Pragmatic Worldview Triangulation of data &Tell complete student leader social media story
- 14. 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
- 15. Student Leader A college student who is involved in a formal campus role/position for which they were selected, nominated, hired or elected.
- 16. 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
- 17. 2,200 Social Media Posts Two Applications Facebook & Instagram One Year January – December 2014
- 18. 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).
- 19. 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
- 20. 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)
- 23. Results
- 24. Social Media Impact in K-12
- 25. Middle School
- 26. High School!
- 27. Little Guidance in K-12 Controlling Parents Peer Pressure Fear Tactics Trial & Error
- 28. Navigating Social Media in College
- 30. Visual Posts Rule Social Media
- 31. Guidance from Student Affairs • Informal Agreements • Training Sessions • Formal Expectations • Explicit Contracts • What not to do
- 32. -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.”
- 33. Digital Education through Trial & Error
- 35. Presentation of Self Maintaining Relationships Managing Perception
- 41. “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…”
- 42. “So I think for me, it's all about perception. You never know who is watching. You're always on stage.”
- 43. “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.”
- 44. The New #FOMO Fear of Mistakes Online
- 45. Digital Leadership Presence & Possibilities
- 48. 97.5% Out of 2,200 social media posts 97.5% of them were defined as appropriate
- 49. The Student Leader Filter
- 50. Student Public Figure To the University Their Families Future Generations Social Media Responsibility
- 52. Privacy!
- 53. Grandma is the new digital influencer
- 54. What will people think?
- 57. “As a student leader, you become detached from social media… In the past, social media was used to express who you are freely.”
- 58. “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.”
- 59. Digital Change Agents! Social Media for Social Good!
- 62. Collaboration Common Purpose Controversy with Civility Citizenship Consciousness of self Congruence Commitment Social Change Model Individual Values G r o u p Va l u e s Community Values Change
- 63. Students Leaders were presenting… Individual Values on Social Media Consciousness of Self Commitment
- 64. • Consciousness of Self • Congruence • Commitment • Common Purpose • Citizenship acebook than Instagram more likely to include:
- 66. Group and Community values were lacking on social media
- 67. student leadership, identity presentation & decision-making on social media Significance of ! college social media guidance!
- 68. 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
- 69. 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
- 71. Who needs a course correct? Student Leaders with Greek Affiliation
- 72. Guidance in K-12 Negative Effect
- 73. Implications
- 74. • 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
- 75. Implications for Theory • Social Change Model individual values present on social media • Chickering’s Seven Vectors confirmed: identity presentation through relationships
- 77. • 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
- 78. 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 &&
- 79. 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
- 80. Student leaders don’t need saving on social media
- 81. They don’t need a lifeguard patrolling their pages
- 82. Student Leaders Need Social Media
- 83. Are you a social media lifeguard or a lighthouse?
- 85. 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