School policies and popular culture narratives often focus on problems associated with social media, and indeed these media have created challenges that many individuals, communities, societies, and even political systems struggle to manage (Krutka et al., 2019; Carpenter, 2020). However, some educators—such as the one expression above—have apparently found ways to utilize social media both in student activities and for professional learning (Marin, Carpenter, & Tur, 2021). Research has previously investigated educators’ uses of social media, including Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and has described multiple benefits and challenges (Patahuddin, Rokhmah, Caffery, & Gunawardena, 2022; Muthmainnah, Marzuki, Santiana, Erizar, & Nursyam, 2022; Chapman, & Marich, 2021).
User-centered social media activities support participants with formal and informal learning opportunities (Kim & Lee, 2022). Social media groups transform online technologies into an e-learning environment centered on participation, production, dialogue and teamwork by increasing interaction and collaboration among participants (Rodrigues et al., 2010; Hamadi, El-Den, Azam & Sriratanaviriyakul, 2022; Kim & Lee, 2022).The use of social media environments for educational purposes has been reported to have a positive effect on individuals' affective characteristics, learning opportunities and positively supports their learning (Patahuddin & Logan, 2019; Patahuddin, Rokhmah & Lowrie, 2020).
Teachers also use social media networks to get personal, emotional, and professional support. According to Harwey and Hydnman (2018), teachers can use social media networks to follow professional communities and create new communities. For example, Twitter is currently being used intensively for professional organizations, protests, and actions (Staudth Willet, 2019). Instagram, one of the most used social media networks today. There are studies on the contribution of Instagram to the professional development of teachers, but it is very limited in terms of Instagram pages. In addition, no study was found specific to science teachers (Carpenter, Morrison, Craft & Lee, 2020; Richter, Carpenter, Meyer & Richter, 2022; Aghayi & Christison, 2021; Martínez & Rodríguez, 2021; Davis & Yi, 2022).
An Instagram page (IP) is a type of Instagram application that enables individuals with comparable hobbies to engage with one another, even if they are not Instagram friends (Mudra et al, 2022; Bailey & Almusharraf, 2021). This platform enables anyone to set up a group of people based around a particular subject matter, concept, or notion, and it is not uncommon for an individual to belong to multiple IPs.
IPs have become increasingly popular among educators who wish to cooperate, produce fresh concepts for classroom teaching, receive support, and seek professional guidance. In fact, IPs allow the formation of a valuable group of educators who share a common interest, which can complement traditional professional development (Sancar, Atal & Deryakulu, 2021; Carpenter & Morrison, 2020; Richter, Carpenter, Meyer & Richter, 2022). However, recent research has raised concerns regarding the nature of IPs, as they allow users to post irrelevant content, such as advertisements, which can disrupt professional conversations among teachers (Díaz-Herrera, González-Fernández & Salcines-Talledo, 2022). It’s crucial to recognize the potential contradictions that arise when digital technologies are considered tools to facilitate teachers' continuous professional growth.
Prior research on IPs for teachers' professional growth has primarily been carried on in developed countries (Richter, Carpenter, Meyer, Richter, 2022), where tools for professional growth, like educational materials and ideas, tend to be more readily available than in growing nations. Additionally, most studies have emphasized the advantages of IPs without fully analyzing the challenges (Al-Jarf, 2021, Patahuddin & Logan, 2019; Patahuddin, Rokhmah & Lowrie, 2020, Goet, 2022; Staudt Willet, 2022). Moreover, previous research has been limited to a narrow group of IPs, providing small evidence of whether the educators value one group over the rest. With regards to the subject, the prior research has focused solely on one academic subject domain: English as a Foreign Language (EFL) (Al-Jarf, 2021; Han, Gao & Yang, 2021; Bailey & Almusharraf, 2021; Woodford, Southcott & Gindidis 2023, Demirbaş & Demir, 2023). Therefore, further research evidence is needed to shed light on the present role of IPs for teacher professional growth.
In the current study, the focus was on a growing nation, Turkey, where significant gaps exist between professional growth needs and accessible assistance. Science teachers in Turkey face two specific challenges: the regularly poor performance of Turkish students in two high-stakes science tests (Trends in International Sciences and Science Study (TISSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)) and insufficient pedagogical content knowledge. It is also worth noting that Instagram is extensively utilized by educators in Turkey, as the country is among the world's leading consumers of mobile devices, and the quantity of Instagram users has exceeded 130 million as of 2018 (Bozdoğan & Yıldırım, 2020, Taflı, 2021, Balcı & Bal, 2022).
The current study examined the viewpoints of science educators and instructors about their most highly regarded instructional IPs - consisting of 573 groups - and their reasons for choosing them, as well as the challenges they face. By investigating the participants' most appreciated IPs, the study presumed that they would be the groups most frequently visited when accessing Instagram. The results of this research contribute to our comprehension of how social media can be utilized as a supplementary or substitute instrument for teachers' professional growth. The research questions that guided this study were:
(1) Which educational IPs are most highly regarded by science teachers? (2) What are the advantages and drawbacks of these educational IPs?