The moral positioning of education policy publics: how social media is used to wedge an issue

ABSTRACT

Social media has become a core feature in policy development and enactment. This article extends current features of digital policy sociology to include the entanglement of education policy development processes with new media, paying particular attention to how two conservative think tanks in Australia have strategically used social media in their lobbying practices. By concentrating on policy publics, we show how The Centre for Independent Studies and the Institute of Public Affairs have used social media as a part of education politics. Using Luhmann’s theory of moral communication as a framework, we work towards accounting for the contemporary hyperactivity of education policy and politics and speculate how these Australian case studies might inform the critical policy sociology of education.

KEYWORDS:

• Think tanks
• Luhmann
• social media
• critical policy sociology
• moral communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. This project has ethical clearance from the QUT Human Ethics Committee project 2521

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Naomi Barnes

Naomi Barnes is a network analyst interested in how ideas influence education policy. Spanning across disciplines, her research contributes to evidence-informed policy in education. The growth of communication via social media has kept her motivated to develop models, which show the impact of the platforms on the politics and policy of education. She has applied her modelling to university attrition rates, teacher use of social media, and the development and implementation of Australian literacy policy.

Steven Watson

Steven Watson conducts research about the nature and relationship between teachers’ thinking and action. He is interested in the role of social media in teachers professional learning. He is particularly interest was the moral polarisations that were constructed on social platforms, especially Twitter. The so-called ‘culture wars’ and even populist ruptures have become an increasing feature of education policy making in England and also in other parts of the world.

Sheena MacRae

Sheena MacRae is an early career researcher with qualitative expertise in the digital mediation of sexual identity, and a working interest in digital and creative sector inequalities. Sheena is a member of the BSA Digital Sociology study group and has worked on the SIGN project as a PDRA drawing together a resource encouraging more equitable access to screen careers in the Yorkshire an Humber region.