“That Middle School Is Trash!!!” Public Knowledge about Local Schools on Social Media

Abstract

Purpose: Americans frequently turn to online social networking sites (OSNs) as a source of news and information. Yet the role of OSNs in knowledge formation about local public schools remains underexamined. This study explores how public knowledge about local schools is constructed on Facebook. Research Methods/Approach: This ethnographic case study centers on a large “private” Facebook group in the community of Oldtown (pseudonym). Drawing on digital public sphere theory, this study examines who posts about the schools on Facebook, what they post, and how interaction shapes the collective knowledge about local schools on Facebook and beyond. Findings: Posts with the highest levels of engagement offer negative framings of the local schools. Less than 1% of group members create these posts, and special interest actors largely determine which posts go viral within the group. These actors promote their agendas by bolstering engagement on select posts and by policing the comment section to limit positive feedback about the schools. Implications: When community members log into Facebook, they see a distorted portrait of the local public schools that is constructed through inequitable participation. Given increasing levels of school choice and growing dissatisfaction with public schools in some quarters, these findings shed light on how OSNs may contribute to public skepticism in local public schools. Implications for school and district leaders as well as considerations for researchers conducting work in “private” Facebook groups are discussed.