Characteristics of Leading Groups on a Professional Social Network

Volume 16 Issue 2 July - September 2019

Research Paper

Characteristics of Leading Groups on a Professional Social Network

Smadar Bar-Tal*, Tami Seifert**

* Center for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching, Levinsky College, Israel.

** Kibbutzim College of Education, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Bar-Tal, S., & Seifert, T. (2019). Characteristics of Leading Groups on a Professional Social Network. i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 16(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.26634/jet.16.2.15043

Abstract

"Shluvim" is a professional social network (hereinafter: PSN) in Israel. It serves as a space for educational professionals to collaborate and share knowledge, empower their professional development and receive emotional support. The authors aimed to characterize the groups operating in this network and the role played by the groups' leaders over the first four years of its operation, investigating motives for the groups' creation and the extent of group activity and created a model for policymakers and members of PSNs. Qualitative-phenomenological and quantitative data gathered from 16 semi-structured interviews, and a focus group indicated different rates of participation in the groups, distinguishing open and closed groups and identifying motives for their creation. The findings indicate the importance of social networking groups for members' personal and professional development, the importance of the group managers' activity, and reasons for a group's success or failure. Group members' were informed on the recommendations for successful group management.