The Critical State of Literacy: A Study of Social Media's Influence on Educational Discourse

In today's hyper-connected world, educational leaders face unprecedented challenges as social media platforms amplify debates around curriculum, book selections, and educational policies. This leadership session presents groundbreaking research using Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA) to examine how digital platforms shape community perceptions and polarize educational discourse. Drawing from an in-depth analysis of social media discussions during the height of educational controversies in 2021, this session reveals how Facebook's architecture and user interactions create echo chambers that transform nuanced educational topics into seemingly black-and-white conflicts through digital fear-mongering rhetoric, online identity reinforcement, and platform-driven issue amplification.Participants will gain a research-backed framework for understanding how social media influences community attitudes toward schools, practical strategies for identifying and addressing misinformation in educational discourse, and evidence-based approaches to developing media literacy initiatives.