ABSTRACT

University students frequently use campus Facebook Confessions pages to engage with their peers about their university experiences. This article explores the utility of Confessions pages in providing novel data to aid the development of student services generally, and academic skills support in particular. Through a qualitative thematic analysis of five universities’ Facebook Confessions pages over five years, our research demonstrates that these platforms provide valuable insights. Confessions data complement traditional research and evaluation approaches and enable academic skills advisors to tailor their practices in response to students’ expressed needs. Additionally, these pages offer valuable insights into student learning and engagement styles, with the shift toward active and group pedagogical styles clearly evident. Yet overt interventions are likely to be unwelcome and counterproductive. We therefore suggest that while some limited participation can be beneficial, ultimately university staff should remain passive users of data, rather than active participants.

摘要

大学生经常使用校园 Facebook Confessions 页面与同龄人交流他们的大学经历。本文探讨了 Confessions 页面在提供新数据方面的效用，以帮助开发学生服务，尤其是学术技能支持。通过五年来对五所大学的 Facebook Confessions 页面的定性主题分析，我们的研究表明这些平台提供了宝贵的见解。忏悔数据补充了传统的研究和评估方法，并使学术技能顾问能够根据学生表达的需求调整他们的实践。此外，这些页面提供了对学生学习和参与方式的宝贵见解，向积极和小组教学方式的转变显而易见。然而，公开的干预很可能不受欢迎且适得其反。因此，我们建议虽然一些有限的参与可能是有益的，但最终大学工作人员应该保持被动的数据用户，而不是积极的参与者。