Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities
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Pertanika · Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities

Official journal of Universiti Putra Malaysia for scholarly work across the social sciences, humanities and related interdisciplinary fields.

e-ISSN 2231-8534 ISSN 0128-7702
Research article

English Language Teachers’ Practices of Online Professional Development using Facebook

Malini Ganapathy, Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan and Sharimala Devi Meenakshisundram

KeywordsFacebook, online professional development, social media, social networking sites
Article content

Abstract

Social Networking Sites (SNS) are a relatively new strand of the Internet, and are rapidly emerging as a popular and meaningful platform for teachers to engage in online professional development activities (OPD). However, literature indicates that very little studies have been done on how teachers actually use SNS, specifically Facebook, for professional development. Hence, their practices and experiences of Facebook for professional development are not well understood. Therefore, this study, which involved 113 English language teachers, was undertaken with the aim of understanding English language teachers’ practices of online professional development using the Facebook platform. Findings do indicate how Facebook may have contributed to teachers’ OPD. This has meaningful implications for planners and organizers of teacher development programmes to better integrate Facebook in enhancing teachers’ meaningful learning and experiences, particularly during their professional development.