Does Facebook provide educational value? A critical review of theoretical and empirical advancements

Facebook has received considerable attention from a number of research areas such as social and behavioral sciences, economics and law, business and marketing, and dozens of papers have also appeared in specialized journals and have been presented in thematic conferences in the field of education. However, the educational value of Facebook has not been fully confirmed, and results from the mainstream educational paradigms are contradictory. Generally, the literature suggests that Facebook is mainly used as a tool supporting existing social relationships and enabling the maintenance of social capital, and published reviews have emphasized how the literature has devoted particular attention to students’ usage profiles and extent of Facebook use, students’ attitudes toward Facebook, and its effects in terms of academic performance and affective outcomes. However, a number of experiences related to educational usage of Facebook as a technology-enhanced learning environment are flourishing. These latter studies account for learning experiences whereby Facebook has been used as a unique, or at least as one, learning management system tool, or as a platform for educational purposes. This seems to indicate that there is a need for a better understanding of whether and eventually how to use Facebook in education. This chapter focuses on these issues trying to provide a wide overview of the current literature on the education value of Facebook through both theoretical positions and empirical findings, outlining a map of the most common educational uses of Facebook, and at exploring the extent to which Facebook’s pedagogical potential usually mentioned in the literature is actually translated into practice. Further a few preliminary guidelines about Facebook usage will be provided. The chapter finally provides some hints about emerging trends and areas that would deserve further research, such as professional development and academic practice and location-based learning.