Social media and non‑university teachers from a gender perspective in Spain

Open Access © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the mate‑ rial. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. ORIGINAL RESEARCH Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 https://doi.org/10.1007/s44322‑024‑00010‑z Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research Social media andnon‑university teachers fromagender perspective inSpain Ángela Martín‑Gutiérrez1* , Elias Said‑Hung2 and Jesús Conde‑Jiménez3 Abstract Non‑university teaching staff must use social media platforms (SMP) to update themselves on educational matters. This study aims to analyze how these teachers in Spanish non‑university education, differentiating between men and women, value and use SMPs to update themselves in educational matters. A total of 463 Spanish teachers participated in this survey‑type study. The results show that the perception of usefulness, responsible use, and the role of educational institutions and agents remains medium or low. At the descriptive level, differences between men and women are detected in the perceptions of the teachers surveyed, with female teachers hav‑ ing a more favourable perception of the usefulness, use, and role of social media assumed by the institutions in which they work professionally compared to male teachers. It is concluded that there are three profiles of non‑university teachers according to the variables analyzed that do not show differences according to the sex of the teachers. The implications of this study help to propose actions that help improve the scenario by 1) increasing the training channels, 2) increasing the levels of educational innovation through SMP, 3) increasing the effectiveness of teaching– learning strategies, and 4) promoting of skills that contribute to greater use and per‑ ception of these scenarios for the training of teachers and students. Keywords: Non‑university teacher, Social media platforms, Sex, Teacher education 1 Introduction We are immersed in a society that pays increasing attention to the use of technologies (Castellanos etal., 2017), which increases the need for teachers to be in continuous upskilling to be at the level that allows them to optimize the use of technological tools (Alcalá etal., 2020). Social media platforms (SMP) have recently become the most revolutionary phenomenon within the media (Fernández etal., 2019). Technological progress, the development of media and resources, and the ease of access to them show significant advances in communication associated with the Internet and digitization over time (Paredes-Chacín etal., 2020). Some factors contributing to this recent trend can be identified. On the one hand, there is the penetration of the SMP itself as a global, national, and regional communication channel. We live in an interconnected world supported by information and communication technologies, in which a large amount of knowledge is produced and *Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Theory and History of Education, Facultad de Educación, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Avenida de La Paz 137, 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain 2 Department of Education, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), Logroño, Spain 3 Department of Theory and History of Education and Social Pedagogy, Universidad de Sevilla (US), Seville, Spain Page 2 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 distributed at high speed, causing ’knowledge obsolescence’ (González-Sanmamed etal., 2018, p. 28). Society changes so quickly that, generally, there is not the necessary space to reflect on these changes and their consequences. Of these transformations that occur, we find access to information and knowledge (Alsina & Rodríguez-Muñiz2021). On the other hand, the academic field is invited to consider the importance of disseminating research results to reach the public that can take advantage of it. An increasing number of teachers are consulting the SMP to access the knowledge and tools that others have developed (Aguilera-Mata & García2021). The potential of social media at the informative and interactive level is evidenced in some research since they facilitate the exchange of information linked to professional interests (González etal., 2022). Undoubtedly, the SMP poses a new educational paradigm of access to knowledge (Torres-Lima2017). Teachers can make use of SMPs of different kinds. Based on a specificity criterion, some authors have classified them by distinguishing between generalist SMP (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and others) and academic SMP (Researchgate, Academia, Mendeley & others) (Salinas etal., 2019). The latter is more used by university professors who disseminate the results of their research and contributions to scientific knowledge, although they seek visibility within the academic community (Meishar-Tal & Pieterse2017). Non-university teachers use generalist SMP more (Finkler & Leon2019) since there is a greater tendency to disseminate scientific knowledge through the diversity of SMP and the particular formats of each, for example, illustrated or unillustrated micro texts enriched with links, concise, medium- or long-duration videos, and interactive material or comics (Mayor2020; Zaragoza & Roca2020). The use of social media platforms for scientific dissemination has significantly impacted the training of the research community, which primarily comprises university professors. This trend has been observed in studies investigating the application of social media in Higher Education, showing a decline in research at lower levels of education. The growing adoption of social media by university teaching staff is evident in scientific literature. Nevertheless, it is not exclusive, so this knowledge is disseminated to all professionals in education and non-university teachers. Bergviken etal. (2018) and Van Den Beemt etal. (2020) show the active presence of this teaching staff on social media. The educational contexts have been evolving in recent years, modifying their means of teaching and scientific dissemination due to technological progress and adapting to the various tools offered by the SMP. The SMP has led to changes in the classroom and teaching hours (Gil & Serna2014). However, the use of technological applications is not always accompanied by the necessary preparation so that people, particularly teachers, can make optimal use of it in scientific communication, diffusion and dissemination. Despite the lack of preparation of teachers, international scientific literature reveals that social media promotes and enhances the professional development of those teachers who utilize them (Ostashewski etal., 2011; Van Den Beemt etal., 2020; Visser etal., 2014). This constitutes the scientific interest of this study, which examines teachers’ perceptions of employing SMP in education in Spain. Non-university teachers need to be trained in educational matters. They must access, promote, disseminate and offer scientific knowledge using the main communication channels and digital media, such as the Internet, search engines, SMP and various Page 3 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 platforms (González etal., 2022). Alsina and Rodríguez-Muñiz (2021) demonstrate that social media can serve as practical resources for teacher training. Specifically, they can be utilized to innovate in the planning and developing training courses for educators. The use of social media in this manner can significantly enhance the overall quality of teacher training programs. Aguilera-Mata and García (2021) have identified the necessary aspects for the SMP to be considered a teacher training tool in their continuous training. First, have quality material selection criteria; second, make an adequate adjustment to each professional’s educational environment; and third, know how to differentiate the desire to learn from mere entertainment. Decisions about the type of training will depend on the teacher’s needs, interests, or characteristics, and they will have to identify which sources are of sufficient quality. The study at hand places significant emphasis on the role of sex as a reference variable in computer science, particularly in the context of human–computer interaction (Rai & Khanna2012). This variable has been utilized in developing educational algorithms and mobile applications (Fosch-Villaronga et al., 2021). Furthermore, some studies have delved into the social media interaction between men and women, highlighting other differentiating factors (Vaast2020). Given these points, the exploration of sex as a reference variable is a crucial aspect that demands attention and consideration. Rubio and Escofet (2013) state that experience with technology is more significant in men than women. The former have digital devices before them and use them more, and they use them more for leisure purposes, while the Internet for educational purposes is the same for men and women. If we focus on the education field, specifically on the non-university female teacher’s group, studies are absent from a gender perspective. However, research does show the need to promote the dissemination of women and the creation of information systems that allow institutional research managers and policymakers to detect gender inequalities in productivity and collaboration to establish action plans for making women’s work visible within the academic-scientific field (De Nicola & D’Agostino2021). Therefore, the training processes to train teachers to use social media for teaching and scientific dissemination purposes should consider existing gender gaps. It is necessary to encourage non-university teachers to access various tools with equal opportunities and to make good use of them (Cambronero-Saiz etal., 2021). Based on the above, It is essential to examine how non-university educators in Spain, differentiating between male and female individuals, utilize the SMP for their professional development. 2 Methods andmaterials This research aims to show profiles of the use of social media for access and scientific updating in educational matters for non-university teachers in Spain, differentiating between men and women. To this end, the following specific objectives (SO) are pursued: • SO1. Analyze the perception that non-university teachers have regarding 1) the importance and usefulness of social media for access to the scientific research field; 2) the use of social media for consulting information and updates on educational matters through the SMP; 3) the responsible habits needed to consult information Page 4 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 on the SMP to update themselves on educational matters; and 4) the assessment of the role of educational institutions and their agents in training, both currently and prospectively. • SO2. Classify non-university teaching staff based on their perceptions of the object of study and identify which variables are decisive in this classification of profiles differentiating between men and women. The following research hypotheses (H) are proposed: • H1. There are sex differences in the different perceptions of the teachers surveyed. • H2. There are sex differences in the classifications of the teachers surveyed. This study utilizes a quantitative, nonexperimental, ex post facto survey. 2.1 Population andsample This research is framed within the results obtained of the project ‘Communication and dissemination of science in education in Spain through social networks - Comscienciaeduspain’ (Code number: FCT-20-15761), carried out with the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology - Ministry of Science and Innovation and several Spanish universities. In which the entire teaching staff linked to the 29,330 Non- University Teaching Centers, registered by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of the Government of Spain in Spain for the 2021–2022 academic year, and requested the voluntary participation of members related to the population studied. Simple random sampling (e = ± 4.5 and 1-α = 95%) was performed. Thus, of the 1,536 non-university professors who initially agreed to carry out the survey, a total of 463 made up the sample for this study. Of this total, 178 were men (e = ± 7.3 and 1-α = 95%), and 277 were women (e = ± 5.9 and 1-α = 95%). Table1 presents the respondents’ profiles at a general level and distinguishes between men and women due to the focus of this work. It is essential to clarify that in this study, the sex variable is depicted as a binary variable, with its values determined by the biological sex of the teachers participating in the research. The options for this variable are limited to two categories: men and women. 2.2 Data collection instrument The instruments for data collection are two questionnaires, one developed for university teachers and the other for non-university teachers. The questionnaire for non-university teachers comprised 40 questions that addressed aspects related to the socio-educational and academic traits of the analyzed population, employment status, the habits and use of social media, and the perceptions associated with these informal digital communications and learning scenarios. A pilot was carried out with 96 non-university professors for the reliability analysis (α = 0.9575), and the pretest of the final survey was applied. Eighteen items are selected and integrated into 4 Likert-type scales (Table2). Motivated by the readaptation, the new construct validity and reliability are calculated and presented, guaranteeing the rigour of this work’s data collection. As seen in Table3, the four selected scales are valid. The total variance explained was between 57.76% and 72.19%, with reliability between 0.74 and 0.84. The scales reach a reliability of 0.895. Page 5 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 2.3 Procedure anddata analysis The data collection instrument was designed with Question Pro and distributed online between November 2021 and January 2022. The data provided in the State Registry of Non-University Teaching Centers of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (2019) was used to extract emails at a national level. Information was used to send official project information and the formal request for support for access to this instrument by the teaching staff associated with these teaching–learning scenarios. The project, ‘Communication and dissemination of science in education in Spain through social networks - Comscienciaeduspain’ (Code number: FCT-20-15761), from which this article is passed meets the assessment of the ethical suitability of the research with the following code: (PI:015/2021) by the Ethics Committee of the International University of La Rioja (Spain). Different statistical analyses of the data are carried out depending on the objectives. Descriptive mean and dispersion analyses (standard, minimum, and maximum deviation) are performed to respond to the first specific objective. For hypothesis contrasts, the Student’s t-test was applied to determine the mean differences based on sex after Levene’s test for the assumption or not of equal variances. An exploratory hierarchical cluster analysis is carried out to respond to the second specific objective, applying the link grouping method between groups and taking the squared Euclidean distance as the interval measure. Second, a dendrogram is extracted from this initial exploration to guide the number of groups used to apply the k-means cluster test, following the iterate and classify method. Pearson’s chi-square test was applied to contrast the hypothesis of equal classification of groups based on sex. Finally, multivariate discriminant analysis was performed. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Box’s M were applied to determine the test’s suitability. To perform the discriminant, the Inclusion Method ’Introduce independents together’ is used, obtaining the coefficients of the canonical discriminant Table 1 Profile of the sample of general non‑university teaching staff of men and women General profile ▪ Most respondents are women (40.17% men and 59.83% women) ▪ Average age 48 years ▪ More than 20 years since obtaining the bachelor’s degree ▪ The majority (61%) have a Social and Legal Sciences and Arts and Humanities degree ▪ More than half have a master’s degree (53.1%) ▪ The majority work as secondary school teachers in public schools, and 36.4% of those who work in private institutions do so in subsidized schools Profile men ▪ Average age 49 years ▪ Average of 24 years since obtaining the bachelor’s degree, primarily associated with areas of knowledge related to titles from the Social and Legal Sciences and Arts and Humanities (51%) ▪ Average of 15 years from obtaining a master’s degree, although only 45.2% have it and only 11.8% have a doctorate ▪ 57% of those surveyed work in public institutions ▪ 78% practice their profession in primary, secondary, and non‑university baccalaureate institu‑ tions or higher ▪ 97% work under a daytime teaching modality (face‑to‑face) Profile women ▪ Average age 47 years ▪ The average of 24 years since obtaining the degree is primarily associated with areas of knowl‑ edge related to titles from the Social and Legal Sciences and Arts and Humanities (67.9%) ▪ On average, it has been 14 and 13 years since obtaining the master’s degree and/or doctorate, and half (55.2%) of the sample does not have either of these educational levels ▪ 70% work in public non‑university educational institutions ▪ 70% practice their profession at the secondary, baccalaureate or non‑university higher educa‑ tion level ▪ 96% work under a daytime teaching modality (face‑to‑face) Page 6 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 Table 2 Scales and items selected from the initial questionnaire for non‑university teachers Scales Codes Items Perception of the usefulness of the SMP PU • PU1. ’I believe that social media provide teachers access to scientific knowledge in their field.’ • PU2. ’I believe that social media are handy for teachers who want to improve their work based on scientific knowledge of their field.’ • PU3. ’I prefer the scientific knowledge in educational matters that I obtain through social media due to the formats in which they are published (summaries, reviews, infographics, videos, podcasts).’ Uses of the SMP U • U1. ’I access educational news from scientific research through social media.’ • U2. ’Social media are my main source of updates on educa‑ tional matters based on scientific research.’ • U3. ’When I get educational content from scientific research, I share it with fellow teachers, like it, and comment on it.’ • U4. ’I adopt the research results and use them in teaching in my classroom.’ • U5. ’Through social media, I exchange with other teachers what I consider useful for educational improvement, which is the product of scientific research.’ Responsible use in the consultation of the SMP in educational matters RES • RES1. ’I directly take the data that the social network distrib‑ utes.’ • RES2. ’I checked some data that the social network disclosed about the result of the investigation.’ • RES3. ’I read extensively the article to which the social net‑ work refers.’ • RES4. ’I adopt the research results and use them in teaching.’ • RES5. ’I care about the repository in which the queried docu‑ ments are located.’ • RES6. ’I always consider some criteria of origin of the infor‑ mation to decide if I read it or use it in my teaching activity (Repositories, universities, other, database indexing).’ The formative perspective of the SMP PROS • PROS1. ’I consider it necessary to train university professors so that they know how to design their academic profiles on social media.’ • PROS2. ’I would be interested in signing up for a training course that will help me improve my use and academic vis‑ ibility on social media.’ • PROS3. ’More information should be offered on the impor‑ tance of social media in favour of academic growth.’ • PROS4. ’University institutions in Spain promote plans and strategies that favour their assigned teachers’ use of social media.’ Table 3 Construct validity and reliability of the readaptation of the initial questionnaire for non‑ university teachers a Number of rotated components, Varimax rotation method Construct validity Reliability Principal component analysis Cronbach’s alpha Scales No. of Items Number of components (eigenvalue > a 1) Total variance explained (%) Cronbach’s alpha Scale 1 PU 3 1 72.189 .804 Scale 2 U 5 1 59.095 .835 Scale 3 RES 6 2a66.180 .768 Scale 4 PROS 4 1 57.764 .739 Page 7 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 functions to assess their predictive power employing the percentage obtained in the Fisher classification Results test. The data collected to address the topic proposed in this research were processed and statistically analyzed using the statistical program SPSS V.26. 3 Findings Below are the results that respond to SO1: ’Analyze the perception that non-university teachers have regarding 1) the importance and usefulness of social media for access to the scientific-research field; 2) the use of social media for consulting information and updates on educational matters through the SMP; 3) the responsible habits for consulting information on the SMP to update themselves on educational matters; and 4) the assessment of the role of educational institutions and their agents in training, both currently and prospectively. Regarding the importance and usefulness of social media for access to scientific research, as shown in Fig.1, this perception of usefulness (PU) presents a mean score in non-university teachers generally of 3.47 (standard deviation = ± 0.87). In the case of men, the mean score is 3.35 (standard deviation = ± 0.88), and in the case of women, it is 3.55 (standard deviation = ± 0.86). Regarding the Use (U) of teachers when they consult information and update themselves on educational matters through the SMP, the average assessment of non-uni- versity teachers is 3.27 (typical deviation = ± 0.87). Men received a mean score of 3.17 (standard deviation = ± 0.88), and women received a mean score of 3.35 (standard deviation = ± 0.85). Fig. 1 Mean values of the PU, U, RES and PROS dimensions of the general non‑university teaching staff, men and women Page 8 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 Regarding responsibility (RES), when teachers consult the information in the SMP to update themselves on educational matters, an average score of 3.35 (standard deviation = ± 0.64) is reached in university teachers in general. In the case of men, the mean is 3.32 (standard deviation = ± 0.70), and in the case of women, it is 3.37 (standard deviation = ± 0.59). Finally, the assessment of non-university teachers on the role of educational institutions and their agents in training, currently and prospectively (PROS), presents an average score of 3.29 (deviation = ± 0.74). In the case of men, it is 3.28 (standard deviation = ± 0.73), and in the case of women, it is 3.31 (standard deviation = ± 0.75). In all cases and dimensions, the average score reaches the highest value for the women, presenting a lower dispersion. In the three groups (general non-university teaching staff, men and women), the average scores of the PU, U and PROS dimensions oscillate between a minimum of one and a maximum of five. In the RES dimension, it oscillates between a minimum of one and a maximum of 4.83, reaching a minimum of 1.17 and a maximum of 4.67 and a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 4.84 in men and women, respectively. Considering H1, ’There are sex differences in the different perceptions of the teachers surveyed’, the following Table4 only shows significant differences based on men and women (p-value < 0.05) in the perception of use (PU, next = 0.043). Likewise, both have a negative sign at the confidence interval limits, which does not mean the hypothesis is due to chance. In the rest of the cases, no differences were detected based on sex. In addition, one must be especially sensitive when interpreting these contrasts since there is a significant change in the confidence intervals, indicating that 0 could be a value at some point. Below are the results that respond to SO2: ’Classify non-university teachers based on their perceptions of the proposed topic and identify which variables are decisive in this classification of profiles differentiating between men and women’. Before the classification of profiles applying the k-means cluster technique, an exploration is carried out through hierarchical cluster analysis. The results reveal that two groups naturally exist. The distance between teachers’ perceptions is reduced, and the division of these into three groups is estimated. This finding determines the number of groups to apply the descriptive technique of k-means, where k = 3. Thus, according to the results, three profiles of non-university teaching staff depend on the variables under study. Specifically, the characterization of these teacher profiles Table 4 Student’s T‑test for the equality of means considering the PU, U, RES and PROS 95% confidence interval of the difference Sig. (bilateral) Difference of means Standard error difference Lower Higher PU Equal variances are assumed .043 ‑.19095 .09396 ‑.37573 ‑.00617 U Equal variances are assumed .63 ‑.17509 .09395 ‑.35985 .00967 RES Equal variances are assumed .451 ‑.05382 .07125 ‑.19412 .08649 PROS Equal variances are assumed .772 ‑.02321 .08010 ‑.18072 .13429 Page 9 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 is shown in Table5. Cluster 1 is characterized by bringing together teachers who score the variables around the average score of 4. Specifically, in the PU, the assessment is 4.13, followed by U (3.98), RES (3.70) and PROS (3.72). In Cluster 2, there are those teachers who value approximately 3. The most valued variable is RES (3.31), followed by PU (3.18), PROS (3.11) and U (3.01). Finally, in Cluster 3, those teachers who score approximately two are classified. The teachers in this cluster register a higher valuation in the variable PROS (2.49), followed by RES (2.32), PU (2.02) and U (1.79). In general, to determine the weight of the variables in said classification, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) reveals that the set of dimensions is significant (p-values < 0.05) in the classification carried out, which indicates that they obtain different means for each classified group (Table6). However, Box’s M test makes it possible to reject the null hypothesis of equal population covariance matrices (Table7), revealing that the different groups’ matrices differ. As shown in Table8, the same number of teachers in Clusters 1 and 2 is 44.10%. A total of 88.20% of the participants were in said conglomerates. A total of 11.80% of those surveyed are located in Cluster 3. To determine if this classification consistently differentiates between men and women, that is, if there are differences based on sex in the teachers surveyed (H2) classifications, the Pearson chi-square hypothesis contrast test is performed. This test revealed Table 5 Final grouping clusters of non‑university (general) teaching staff, according to the PU, U, RES and PROS dimensions 123 PU 4.13 3.18 2.02 U 3.98 3.01 1.79 RES 3.70 3.31 2.32 PROS 3.72 3.11 2.49 Table 6 ANOVA F tests should only be used for descriptive purposes because the clusters have been chosen to maximize the differences between cases in different clusters. The observed significance levels are not corrected for this and, therefore, cannot be interpreted as testing the hypothesis that the cluster means are equal Root mean square gl Root mean square gl F Sig PU 84.542 2 .294 353 287.268 .000 U 90.699 2 .239 353 379.838 .000 RES 32.090 2 .218 353 147.080 .000 PROS 30.867 2 .361 353 85.425 .000 Table 7 Box M‑Test results m 122.781 F approx 5.986 gl1 20 gl2 55477.592 Sig .000 Page 16 of 17 Martín‑Gutiérrezetal. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (2024) 13:10 Funding This work is part of a competitive project called ¨Communication and dissemination of science in education in Spain through social networks—Comscienciaeduspain¨ (FCT‑20–15761), carried out with the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology—Ministry of Science and Innovation and several Spanish universities. You can learn more about the project through the following link: https:// comsc ienci aedus pain. es. Availability of data and materials The following website provides access to the data related to the project: https:// comsc ienci aedus pain. es. However, the authors of the publication may be asked for any information they deem necessary. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate The Research Ethics Committee of the International University of La Rioja (Spain) approved this research with the follow‑ ing code: (PI:015/2021). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent for publication The authors declare their consent to the publication of this study. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Competing interests The authors confirm that this work is original and has not been published elsewhere, nor is it currently under considera‑ tion for publication elsewhere. The authors no conflicts of interest to disclose. 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