Teacher-student relationship in the SNS-era: Ethical issues
Abstract: Public debate on social networking sites (SNS) usage in teacher-student interactions has been vigorous and controversial in nature, emphasizing drawbacks rather than mutual benefits; disadvantages may include blurring of school vs. home settings, self-exposure and loss of control. In many cases, regulations regarding student-teacher SNS-mediated communication (which often ban such communication) reflect a decision-making process which is not evidence-based. In this study, we explored ethical dilemmas of teachers regarding SNS-mediated communication with students (N=180). Findings highlight a few categories of ethical dilemmas, including definition of role boundaries, privacy issues, dangers of exploitation via SNS, and lack of ICT literacies. In addition, we found that the majority of teachers oppose the banning policy. Implications of these findings include the need to confront ethical issues in student-teacher SNS-mediated communication and to promote an ethical code.