Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Administrative and Instructional Leadership

First Advisor

Catherine DiMartino

Second Advisor

Serafino M. Celano

Third Advisor

James C. Coviello

Abstract

Each day, social media applications are downloaded, uploaded, and changed to meet the users' needs utilizing these apps (Tang & Patrick, 2020). With the constant change in social media platforms, utilization of such platforms is increasing daily and students navigating these platforms is occurring at younger ages (Fredrick at el., 2024; Perez-Chada et al., 2023). This study focused on the social, emotional, and academic impacts students are experiencing due to social media use from the perspectives of building administrators and faculty members. This study also investigated the policies in place within a specific school district that address student social media use. Through a qualitative case study, the researcher investigated the experiences and perceptions of building administrators and various faculty members in a particular school district in the North-East United States through focus groups, interviews, and document analysis. Findings from this study supported the literature with participants highlighting the impacts on students social and emotional functioning due to social media use. Academic impacts, both positive and negative were revealed in this study based upon participants' responses. Parent involvement was found to be a missing element in the collaboration between school and home in order to provide the highest level of student support as students continue to utilize social media applications and platforms. Furthermore, this study highlighted the need for the review of district policies and building practices to support students’ use of social media platforms.

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