Engagement and Estrangement: How Teachers Navigate Connection and Boundaries in the Digital Space

Given the growing popularity of social media for information sharing, this study was based on a thesis to determine the obstacles teachers and teacher-librarians face when disseminating knowledge through school libraries. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study gathered data from fifty-three teachers through surveys and conducted interviews with two teacher-librarians to gain their perspectives. SPSS was used in analysing quantitative data, while Atlas. Ti was used to analyse qualitative data. The findings indicated that teachers and teacher-librarians encounter difficulties using social media for knowledge exchange. These included intermittent internet connection, incompetence, challenges with editing, expensive internet data plans, network issues, a deficiency of computers, power outages, copyright concerns with e-books, and a lack of social media expertise. The study suggests that further research is needed to investigate the integration of social media for knowledge sharing.

social media, school libraries, Zimbabwe, teacher-librarians

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