Exploring the School Policy Regulation on Social Media Engagement Among High School Students: Basis for PSPR-SME Scale

This study explored the perceptions of high school teachers on school policy regulations on social media engagement among students. Using a qualitative research design, data were gathered through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews involving ten purposively selected teacher-participants from the different public and private secondary schools. This study utilized the six-phase thematic analysis of Clarke and Braun. Analysis of the respondents’ responses revealed five central themes that capture teachers’ insights into school policy regulations on high school students’ social media engagement during the conduct of interviews and focus group discussions - Managing Social Media Use for Academic Success and Digital Responsibility, Learning and Skills Development through Social Media Engagement, Potential Risks and Harmful Impacts of Digital Platforms on Students, Complexities of School Social Media Policy Implementation and Effective and Responsible Integration of Social Media and Digital Tools. Recommendations include development of a comprehensive and context-sensitive school social media policy, integration of digital citizenship and online ethics into the curriculum, harness social media as a tool for learning and skills development, strengthen teacher capacity and supervision, addressing risks through preventive and supportive mechanisms, fostering strong home–school collaboration, and establishing clear monitoring, evaluation, and feedback mechanisms. The insights gathered could be the basis for the construction of PSPR-SME Scale.