Are you being performative online?

Almost certainly

I contacted Jeffrey Carpenter, who is a large figure within the ‘writing about teachers using social media’ as a phenomenon’ space', which he and others have crafted. He sent me a paper I requested and another that caught my eye and ties in well to my little research agenda in this area.

It explores the ideas of Social Media Influencers, and includes the idea that is absolutely booming of late, performativity (Hickey & Riddle, 2023). Which is essentially, where you act in a certain way to meet expectations placed upon you, within teaching this tends towards the dominant ideals and ideas of the time, so for us it might be data literacy, engaging with standardised testing or so much more besides. In the online space these pressures to be performative become even more important, so much so, that I feel fully confident in stating that:

The answer to the question: Are you being performative online? Is 100% yes. 

Perhaps in ways you may not notice, but it is definitely occurring, whether you realise it or not. 

Within the study, “Some users took a calculated approach to this kind of performative identity work. Active online engagement provided an important opportunity to present themselves in idealised forms. For example, Benjamin stated: "I don't talk about my bad lessons, my period one on a Friday, that doesn't get discussed; but my Ofsted inspection ones that have been graded outstanding are there.” (Robson, 2018, P.15). And if I think of my own existence online as a teacher and many colleagues besides, this is always true. Now you might take a ‘vague booking’ approach, where you may post something like: ‘bad lessons today’ or similar, but you would never post artifacts, images or details of how this went. Indeed in response to my tweets about the fact that teachers never get publicised in a positive light, many teachers reflected on how that seems fitting considering that they also have bad days, and are not always ‘brilliant teachers’. Now this seems to be a very self-flagellating idea, where having bad lessons in an incredibly human-facing job would preclude a broader point about quality. Whilst in other professions a poor day could be easily brushed off, in teaching, it has always occurred in front of many eyes and so takes on a certain sheen of shame, which I cannot imagine being present in many other professions perhaps maybe those within the performing arts. 

Now, one big reason why? Jobs of course, most teachers seem to always be considering their escape plan or next career move - which is certainly true of the teachers with whom I regularly associate. They note that, “Given the professional nature of the spaces, the main reason given for this kind of identity management was 'jobs'. Many teachers, even if they were not actively job-seeking, viewed peers' perception of them as having potential implications (positive or negative) for future employment. As Helen stated: 'I always try to be careful about what I say and how I might be seen. You never know when you might need a new job!'” (Robson, 2018, P.15). So jobs are never far away, and therefore you need to be careful online, which makes sense, but clearly shows the performative nature of online teacher participation in online spaces. 

They note also that  “Contained within existing materials were performative

expressions of identity which held embedded ideals. By internalizing these ideals teachers' understandings of themselves and what it means to be a teacher were shaped.” (Robson, 2018, P.17), which shows some positive elements of performativity within online representation. Whilst it could be passed off as simple vapid conformity, it could also be positioned as a reifying or exploration of identity forms. 

He notes that, “Drawing on Goffman's (1959) ideas of performativity, it was possible to see the online social spaces acting as front regions in which identity could be agentically performed enabling users to manage the impressions of their peers and present themselves in idealised forms.” (Robson, 2018, P.19) This seems of great importance considering the political and societal placement of teachers within the social milieu, where teachers are bashed and berated, a depiction of oneself in a positive, albeit performative manner seems to hold great power. 

Moving to the idea of the Social Media Influencer (SMI) again, they note that, “Raffel and Groff (1990) suggested some teacher moonlighting may actually be "constructive" in that it can tap teachers' professional knowledge, contribute to their professional growth, and connect them to opportunities for learning and advancement (p. 412). Such constructive benefits may accrue to some education influencers.” (Shelton et al, 2022, p.5). Which supports my own ideas that social media work could and should be considered within the broader PL and recognition sphere, as it really does seem to develop people in meaningful directions and in meaningful ways. 

The problem is of course that online, you work to fit an algorithm that doesn’t care about your identity formation. Instead, “Many SMIs attempt to align their behaviors to apparent algorithm preferences. Algorithms do not just constrain influencers' behavior; they may also render popularity more important than quality or knowledge advancement (Rodriguez et al., 2020). What algorithms prioritize may lack alignment with teachers' professional interests or needs. Education influencers' attention and interests may be reoriented away from that which is beneficial to themselves, their students, and their profession, as clicks, likes, comments, and follower numbers become their primary concerns.” (Shelton et al, 2022, P.6). So if teachers and SMI’s chase the algorith, they may well be steering away from best practice, be even steering towards dangerous territory, and indeed be moving away from those things we expect teahcesr to pursue. I’m less concerned within this possibility, as I do tend to note teachers as passive and safe consumers who are well versed, atleast within AUstralia, of the expectations and ethical pitfalls that exist both online and in person teaching, because of our slavish commitment to Code of Conduct and minimum standards for teachers (Kolber, 2022). 

The manner in which it is still ‘aspirational labor’ (Duffy, 2017; Shelton et al, 2022; Yallop, 2021), remains problematic. They note simply that “The nature of SMI labor is also precarious in that most aspiring influencers initially have to invest a great deal of time, effort, and sometimes money in creating content and trying to attract followers in the hopes that it will eventually pay off, even though relatively few influencers end up as big earners (Duffy, 2016; van Driel & Dumitrica, 2021).” (Shelton et al, 2022, P.9). So it’s definitely not something that can be promoted in lieu of actual pay progression, and is unlikely to be best practice for new teachers because of this precarity, though perhaps we all participate in this seeking of micro celebrity whether we realise it or not - As you might notice, I’m not really sure how best to position this work, valuable, stupid, expensive, costly, or similar. 

They note something that I have written about elsewhere, the idea that “Leadership in social media is distinct from leadership in other contexts (Bakardjieva et al., 2018) and education influencing can be thought of and analyzed as a new style or form of leadership.” (Shelton et al, 2022, P.9). I support the ideas of Shelton et al (2022) and Barnes (2021) that education influencing and online activism can be considered a new form and fora for leadership development, worthy of much closer consideration, and exploration within research. I wonder if you do too? Or is this perhaps too obtuse? 

They note that, “Time spent pursuing the uncertain payoff of becoming an influencer may distract from other potentially valuable professional learning and networking opportunities. Aspiring influencers could alternatively invest their time in graduate studies or engagement with professional associations or teacher unions.” (Shelton et al, 2022, P.10). But in my experience at least teachers require mental and intellectual stimulation that is surprisingly lacking within the average teacher's professional space, meaning this can fit the bill and fill many meaningful gaps there.

They note their own ‘Implications for policy’, which mirror my own: that, “ Education influencers' rise may also reflect insufficient incentives for teachers to spread their expertise and lead by other means (Berry, 2015); policymakers should consider if there are more ways they can harness educators' desires to influence their profession. If opportunities for education influencing and other forms of teacherpreneurship increase, schools may also have to better compensate teachers for extra work in roles such as new-teacher mentors or athletic team coaches. Education influencers also bear responsibility to behave ethically. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission in 2019 published guidance for SMIs on disclosing their relationships with brands, and education influencers and their schools must be aware of such guidelines and potential conflicts of interest. School policies related to educator social media use, however, have struggled to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital technology landscape (Warnick et al., 2016). Policmakers should review and update current regulations so that school stakeholders understand the ethical considerations associated with influencing (Saldaña et al., 2019).” (Shelton et al, 2022, P.11). Can’t really say it better than that. 

Then also that, “The education context also presents particular opportunities and challenges related to the teaching profession and norms around teacher identity. Despite the serious concerns surrounding education influencers, it seems problematic to solely blame individual teachers for seeking to make up for insufficient teacher salaries (Allegretto & Mishel, 2020).” (P.12). This is less of a concern within Australia, but a massive one within the USA, where this is considered not only an additive element of teacher’s work and also identity formation. So coming from Australia I can be more liberal and inclusive of this work, because it doesn't take place within the risk of lost wages and missing out on loans and so forth. Indeed, within my familiar Cambodian context moonlighting in other jobs was an absolute necessity, either as a tuk-tuk driver, tour guide, English teacher out of hours, or many other things.

They note that, “Regardless of their motivations, education influencers are enacting a new kind of teacher leadership, and are doing so within the often flawed, commercialized social media platforms available to them.” (Shelton et al, 2022, P.12). Here, here!

In closing, “Berry (2015) has suggested that teachers need new pathways within the profession, such that they can be "classroom experts who teach students regularly but also have time, space, and reward to spread their ideas and practices to colleagues as well as administrators, policy makers, parents, and community leaders" (p. 146). The education influencer phenomenon offers some potential, but it also begs consideration of larger issues around technologies and platform logics, teacher professionalism and identity, and professional learning in the 21st century.” (Shelton et al, 2022, P.12).

So let’s keep exploring this space and find ways to actual value and elevate it! 

References

Duffy, B. E. (2017). (Not) getting paid to do what you love: Gender, social media, and aspirational work. Yale University Press.

Hickey, A., & Riddle, S. (2023). Performative enactments of pedagogy in the classroom: strategies and tactics of relationality. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 1-16.

Kolber, S. (2022). Challenges and Possibilities for Global Teacher Empowerment. In Empowering Teachers and Democratising Schooling: Perspectives from Australia (pp. 61-78). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

Marwick, A. E., & Boyd, D. (2011). I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience. New media & society, 13(1), 114-133.

Robson, J. (2018). Performance, structure and ideal identity: Reconceptualising teachers' engagement in online social spaces. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(3), 439-450.

Shelton, C. C., Curcio, R., Carpenter, J. P., & Schroeder, S. E. (2022). Instagramming for Justice: The Potentials and Pitfalls of Culturally Relevant Professional Learning on Instagram. TechTrends, 66(5), 837-854.

Yallop, O. (2021). Break the Internet: in pursuit of influence. Scribe Publications.

Running Word Count (the second 100,000): 16,403