Possibilities and missed opportunities for generative dialogue: professional networking, online platforms and the English classroom

Abstract

Purpose

Social media is increasingly vital for educators to extend their professional networks and engage in meaningful conversations. This study aims to explore how Reddit facilitates these interactions as a platform for generative dialogical exchange. For English educators, generative dialogue is paramount for professional development and classroom practice.

Design/methodology/approach

To better understand this dynamic, we outline Hermans and Hermans-Konopka’s (2010) framework of generative dialogical exchange, review relevant literature related to the implications of social media use by educators and argue for the importance of Reddit as a site of exploration into dialogical exchange. After describing our artifact selection, we offer relevant data and conclude with understanding and implications.

Findings

We argue that although online educator communities, particularly those on Reddit, offer opportunities for broad dialogical exchange for English educators, these can be marked by a push and pull between the expansion of the dialogical space and a tendency to rein it back in through reinforcing traditional power dynamics.

Originality/value

Reddit is an understudied site for extending professional networks and fostering conversations among educators, providing a novel approach to understanding these dynamics through dialogical theory.

Citation

Barber, C. and Fecho, B. (2024), "Possibilities and missed opportunities for generative dialogue: professional networking, online platforms and the English classroom", English Teaching: Practice & Critique, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 428-441. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-04-2024-0054