Teacher-student relationship in the facebook era

The popularity of social networking sites has facilitated new modes of teacher-student communication, conveying the potential of changing teacher-students interaction. The goal of this chapter is to examine students' and teachers' perceptions of student-teacher SNS-based relationships in the Facebook era and to supply evidence that supports decision making. The authors present two studies involving secondary school Israeli students and teachers, examining the relations between Facebook-based student-teacher communication and student-teacher relationships. Findings suggest that Facebook communication may be beneficial but highlight conflicting issues. The authors discuss the implications of these studies, offering recommendations that include comprehensive support of teachers in developing new ICT literacies. They recommend further research as a means of providing educational policymakers and stakeholders with evidence to assist with informed decision making, as well as a means to empower teachers by allowing them to make decisions based on their educational beliefs.