The harms of unattainable pedagogical exemplars on social media

Kotsonis, A. and Dunne, G. (2023) The harms of unattainable pedagogical exemplars on social media. Journal of Moral Education, (doi: 10.1080/03057240.2023.2225763) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

This paper scrutinizes the nature and scope of deleterious consequences arising from the pursuit of unattainable pedagogical exemplars on social media. We cash out this phenomenon using exemplarist theory to emphasize the fact that social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) are platforms in which the vast majority of users present idealized and curated versions of themselves. We focus specifically on educational practitioners and show that attempting to emulate unattainable pedagogical exemplars has negative impacts on agents’ emotional well-being: It can cause burnout and self-conflict, decrease motivation, and also inflict detrimental outcomes on agents’ self-esteem. We conclude that attainable, relevant, relatable, and authentic exemplars are key to a successful exemplarist approach and that safeguarding against unattainable pedagogical exemplars is of paramount importance for the wellbeing of pedagogues, and by extension, the success of educational systems.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kotsonis, Dr Alkis
• Authors: Kotsonis, A., and Dunne, G.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: Journal of Moral Education
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 0305-7240
• ISSN (Online): 1465-3877
• Published Online: 03 July 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Moral Education 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License