Influencers and their role in education: A systematic review

Authors

Abstract

Technology is changing teaching and learning in society in general. At the same time, social networks and influencers are increasing their presence in society and are having an impact on social relationships, communication and learning. The objective of this paper is therefore to analyse the existing literature on influencers and education. For this, a systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA protocol. A total of 29 articles selected using previously established criteria were analysed. The results revealed that individuals recognized as educational influencers are users with a substantial number of followers who perform roles that include teaching, information transmission, counselling and support. The leading areas are in health and education, while the predominant social network is Twitter (X). The paper ends with a discussion on aspects on which different studies coincide, and concludes that learning takes place via social networks, although it is clearly of an informal nature.

Keywords

informal learning, social media, influencers, digital technologies, systematic review

References

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Author Biographies

José-Antonio Martínez-Domingo, University of Granada

Predoctoral hire at the University of Granada by the Government of Andalusia. Predoctoral Research Staff in Training assigned to the Department of Didactics and School Organization of the University of Granada. Graduated in Primary Education with a mention in Physical Education from the University of Granada. Master in Research and Innovation in Curriculum and Training from the University of Granada. PhD candidate in Educational Sciences from the University of Granada. Member of the research group Research, Innovation & Technology in Education (RITE, SEJ-607). He has presented a variety of communications at conferences, conferences, book chapters and articles on digital competence, new methodologies and technological resources.

José-María Romero-Rodríguez, University of Granada

Doctor in Educational Sciences from the University of Granada. He is currently a doctoral assistant professor at the same University. He carries out his research work within the AREA research group (HUM-672). Author of different articles of great scientific impact focused on educational innovation and ICT as tools to innovate in education.

Arturo Fuentes-Cabrera, University of Granada

Doctor in Educational Sciences from the University of Granada and research member of the group of
AREA research (HUM-672). Professor of the Department of Didactics and School Organization of
the aforementioned university and the National University of Distance Education (Spain). His lines of
research focuses on the analysis of teaching models, the application of active methodologies and the
use of ICT in teaching and learning processes.

Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz, University of Granada

Full professor at the Department of Teaching and School Organization at the University of Granada. Director of the research group: Research, Innovation & Technology in Education, RITE (SEJ-607). Author of multiple articles of high international impact and coordinator of books of equal international relevance, highlighting among the research topics educational technology.

Published

2024-06-06

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