Understanding Physical Education Teachers’ Help-Seeking Behaviors in a Facebook Professional Learning Community

Abstract

Purpose: Social media has become a popular platform for forming professional learning communities (PLCs) for educators. However, few studies have been conducted to understand physical educators’ behaviors in these social media-based PLCs. This study aimed to investigate physical educators’ help-seeking behaviors in a social media-based PLC on Facebook. Method: A case study was conducted to explore physical educators’ help-seeking behaviors. A total of 4,323 posts were collected and analyzed using content analysis procedures. Both descriptive and qualitative analyses were performed. Findings: More than half (51.45%) of posts published in this Facebook PLC aimed to seek help. Six themes reflecting the types of help that physical educators sought were generated: teaching ideas and materials, equipment and technology, classroom management and discipline, extracurricular event and program development, career and professional development, and social and emotional support. Conclusion: The findings suggest that social media-based PLCs can provide physical educators at all levels opportunities to seek help.