One in four teachers does not know if school has social media policy

The findings of the research were used to formulate guidelines on the use of social media by teachers which were published by the Teaching Council earlier this year.

Almost 40% of school principals and deputy principals said their school did not have a policy on social media use by teachers while 5% said they did not know whether such a policy existed in their school, according to research carried out by the Teaching Council.

The survey of almost 5,000 teachers revealed that 39% of principals and deputy principals and 27% of teachers worked in schools where no policy on the use of social media existed, while another 25% of teachers said they did not know whether their school had such a policy.

The findings of the research, which was carried out in 2019, were used to formulate new guidelines on the use of social media by teachers which were published by the Teaching Council earlier this year.

No data is collated by either the Teaching Council or the Department of Education to provide updated figures on the number of schools which have implemented a social media policy.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the issue was a matter for the board of management of each individual school.

'Fitness to teach' complaints

The Teaching Council said the guidelines were introduced after its investigating committee noticed an increase in “fitness to teach” complaints relating to the inappropriate use by teachers of social media.

The research revealed that around one in eight teachers signalled their disapproval of and disagreement with many parts of the draft guidelines.

They were amended following criticism by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation that the original guidelines failed to provide any reassurance on the rights of teachers to privacy and freedom of expression.

A report on the survey by independent consultant Pádraig Ó Donnabháin, which was released under Freedom of Information legislation, said it was surprising that a quarter of teachers were unaware if their school had a policy on social media use by teachers.

Mr Ó Donnabháin described the finding that 44% of principals and deputy principals either did not have a social media policy or were unsure about the existence of such a policy as “disquieting”. 

Documents show that an original warning by the Teaching Council that a teacher’s conduct online could have a bearing on their fitness to teach was dropped from the final version of the guidelines after it provoked both surprise and alarm among teachers as well as strong opposition from teacher unions.

Many respondents also expressed confusion over whether the guidelines on social media use had the same level of importance as the Teaching Council’s code of professional conduct.

Teaching Council 'has no role'

Mr Ó Donnabháin noted that a repeated criticism was that the Teaching Council “had no role to play in a teacher’s personal use of social media”. However, he said many teachers were also looking to the Teaching Council to initiate some action against the misuse of social media and online abuse of them by students.

The report showed that a number of teachers voiced displeasure at being asked about which platforms they used in their private time, claiming the Teaching Council had no role in such use.

Mr Ó Donnabháin said criticism about the draft guidelines was most robust and temperate but some was “lacking balance and irresponsible” with some teachers being “less than gracious about the Teaching Council”. 

He also noted that some teachers regarded the guidelines on social media use as insulting, patronising, and condescending.