Academicians' Attitudes Towards Feasibility of Social Media in Public Administration Education

Abstract

The contemporary public administration faces new requirements caused by increasing role of the digital age. Future public administration practitioners need more advanced teaching tools as well as to improve the quality of teaching and learning methods figuring out predictable or unpredictable challenges. Social media have become commonplace and operate on a free service model; thus, it can be used in education to improve the interactivity of students and instructors such as online collaborative work, peer-to-peer instruction, and supporting participation. But it is commercially driven, and education isn't the main target. Thus, there are some serious issues of data privacy, confidence, and security. The instructors' attitudes are also important for using social media. Some instructors claim that social media improves student communication and motivation, whereas others claim that they may cause for the distraction from serious learning endeavors. This study aims to evaluate the academicians' attitude about social media using in public administration education at the university level in Turkey.