The ubiquitous use of social networking sites by students and the potential impacts of such use on academic performance are of both theoretical and practical importance. Hence, this paper addresses the question: how does the use of social networking sites influence academic performance? The present review synthesizes the empirical findings of the…

The proliferation of social networking sites (SNS) use by students has been accompanied by both concerns and excitement regarding the consequences of SNS use. Research on SNS use has become increasingly popular in the educational literature. There are a variety of ways that SNS use can affect students, and indeed the work in this stream of…

This paper offers a detailed consideration of how the theoretical scope of the boundary object concept fits within an actor-network theory (ANT) sensibility when researching 'messy objects'. Messy objects are artefacts whose relational effects are inherently slippery and complex. As the aim of ANT is to show how non-human and human actors are…

The purpose of this work is to provide an overview of complex systems research for educational psychologists. We outline a philosophically and theoretically sourced definition of complex systems research organized around complex, dynamic, and emergent ontological characteristics that is useful and appropriate for educational psychology. A complex…

Academic social networking sites are important communication tools commonly used by scholars. In order to obtain an understanding of how scholars at US higher education institutions utilize these sites, this study took ResearchGate (RG) as an example and collected data from 168,059 users from 61 US higher education institutions at three research…

Collaboration is an indispensable tool to promote and increase research. However, little is known about the role of women in collaborative efforts among educational scholars, especially in developing countries, such as Chile. We apply social network analysis (SNA) to examine the relationships and patterns that emerge from a dataset retrieved from…

Radical social movements are broadly engaged in, and dedicated to, promoting change in their social environment. In their corresponding efforts to call attention to various causes, communicate with like-minded groups, and mobilize support for their activities, radical social movements also produce an enormous amount of text. These texts, like…

Social networking sites, such as Myspace and Facebook, have become popular online communities with large teenage user populations who engage in social media to interact, play, explore, and learn. Research based on uses and gratifications theory has revealed that among the gratifications on social media most sought specifically by adolescents…

There are some educational interventions aimed at changing the ways in which individuals interact, and social networks are particularly useful for quantifying these changes. For many of these interventions, the ultimate goal is to change some outcome of interest such as teacher quality or student achievement, and social networks act as a natural…

Background: Theatre companies to show positive capabilities and identities of people with intellectual disabilities have been established. Existing research focuses upon sole theatre performances and rarely includes the impacts on those in the immediate and wider contexts of people with intellectual disabilities. Methods: The impacts of a theatre…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face barriers when establishing peer connections at school. This aim of this study is to explore how social network inclusion in the classroom is associated with playground peer engagement. Independent observers administered friendship surveys to determine social network inclusion in the classroom…

In recent years, the emphasis on interaction in data use has grown because of its potential to support individual teachers. However, in practice, teachers do not appear to interact widely in their use of data, either formally or informally. To gain knowledge of how sustainable data use interactions can be facilitated, this study investigated how…

Firms and institutions of higher education alike emphasize the value of teamwork in increasing organizational performance. In this empirical study, the role of social ties on team performance is examined. The results indicate that there is an inverted-U relationship between average number of friends in a team and team performance, and that this…

Current research indicates that instructors find support for their teaching via membership in small social networks. The present study was conducted to further our understanding of these networks by looking specifically at the perceptions network members hold of each other in terms of similarity of beliefs and the value of their interactions.…

This book will help you interview successfully for your first job--or a new role--in education. Author Scott Lempka offers simple, chronological steps to help you prepare for your interview and show yourself in the best possible light. Topics include: (1) Researching job opportunities; (2) Using the Big Five strategy to showcase your achievements;…