SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE: SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

CASCO, Dheniel Allen, G.

GUIAO, Kenneth Ian, M.

PARAS, Ma. Krisanta, A.

VILLEGAS, Paulo Miguel, N.

Don Bosco Technical Institute –Tarlac

ABSTRACT
Introduction

Social media has become an ever-present force in the world that we live in today. It has

evolved from simply being a means to communicate with other people to an influential worldwide

platform that rivals traditional media and television. With this growth in influence, social media

now has the ability to directly impact current world events. A good example of this is the recent

Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which social media platforms were heavily utilized by both sides

involved in the conflict. The issue here lies in how social media influences these events. Evans

(2022) explains that while social media has transformed how people receive and interpret

information by allowing it to reach a wider audience, it can also be used to spread misinformation

that could potentially cause widespread confusion and conflict (p. 17).

The recent events in Eastern Europe are by no means the first time that social media has

played a key role in influencing current events, and it certainly won’t be the last. However, due to

the unique geopolitical nature of this conflict, a substantial portion of the studies being conducted

on it mainly focus on the political and economic aspects, with somewhat limited coverage being

allotted to the role of social media. This is in spite of the fact that social media is one of the tools

used by non-belligerent actors in order to intervene in the crisis (Humphreys & Paegļkalna, 2022,

p. 1). Seeing this importance, the researchers believe that in order to get a general idea as to what

roles social media played during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the opinions and perspectives

of relevant parties within their reach would have to be gathered. In this case, these relevant parties

were the Media Information Literacy and Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) teachers from the senior

high school department of Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac who were employed during the

school year of 2021-2022. Conducting the study from this angle would ensure that the findings

would come from people who are qualified to share their opinions on this issue. Moreover, the fact
that teachers are the informants would make the study easier to understand for certain people,

particularly students. Additionally, since students are one of the groups that use social media the

most, the findings of this study would give them food for thought as to the role of social media in

their lives and the world at large.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to identify the roles that social media played during the Russian invasion

of Ukraine through the perspective of Media Information Literacy and Social Studies (UCSP &

DISS) teachers from the senior high school department of Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac

who were employed during the school year of 2021-2022.

Specifically, it seeks answers to the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the informants in terms of:

1.1. Age;

1.2. Sex;

1.3. Educational background;

1.4. Subject taught; and

1.5. Work experience?

2. How was social media utilized by the Russian Federation and Ukraine as perceived by the

Media Information Literacy and Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) teachers of the senior high

school department of Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac who were employed during the

school year of 2021-2022 in terms of:

2.1. Raising awareness for their cause;

2.2. Disseminating propaganda;

2.3. Updating foreign audiences about current developments on the ground; and
 2.4. Undermining each other’s efforts in swaying public opinion?

3. What are the positive and negative roles that social media played during the Russian

Invasion of Ukraine as perceived by the Media Information Literacy and Social Studies

(UCSP & DISS) teachers of the senior high school department of Don Bosco Technical

Institute Tarlac who were employed during the school year of 2021-2022?

4. What are the implications of the findings of this study in understanding how social media

influences current events?

Significance of the Study

Included in this section are brief descriptions behind the significances and benefits that this

study has to offer. The findings that were acquired from this study may prove to be of use to the

following groups:

To the M.I.L and Social Studies Teachers. The study may be used as a teaching

resource/aid that would help these teachers in discussing certain lessons in their respective

subjects. In particular, this study will be most relevant in discussing lessons that heavily involve

current politics, modern society, and the rise of social media as a global communication tool.

To the M.I.L and Social Studies Students. The study will help these students gain a wider

perspective on the relationship between social media and current world events as well as the

influence that they have on each other. Additionally, the findings of the study would guide them

in formulating informed opinions on the role of social media in our modern society and its

influence on it.
 To the Journalists. The study will help journalists to better understand the complexities

that can be found in how social media continues to influence and shape global events. Armed with

this knowledge, they would be able to improve the quality and depth of their coverage of not only

the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also other world events.

To the Future Researchers. The study could be used as a reference in the development of

similar researches to be conducted in the future. Furthermore, the study could also serve to generate

future discourse among researchers, which, in turn, would lead to even more studies that will be

conducted to further explore this particular topic.

Methods

Research Design

The researchers agreed that among the qualitative research designs, the one that best suited

their study’s needs and nature was the phenomenological research design. They came to this

conclusion during the early stages of formulating their study, specifically, after they have

determined the focus, scope, and goals of said study. The phenomenological research design, as

its name suggests, centers around the study of a particular phenomenon. It also heavily involves

the description, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of the thoughts and feelings of the

informants regarding the specific phenomenon being studied. In the context of the researchers’

study, the phenomenon that was chosen as the topic was the roles that social media played during

the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the main goal was to acquire the thoughts and perspectives

of Media Information Literacy and Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) teachers from the senior high

school department of Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac who were employed during the school

year of 2021-2022 on this particular matter. With this juxtaposition of the characteristics of the
phenomenological research design and the contents of their study, the researchers saw that the two

of them overlapped in many aspects. Thus, they ultimately made the decision to use the

phenomenological research design in their study. This research design served as the foundation on

how they analyzed and addressed the problem of their study in a systematic, efficient, and logical

manner.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents, or in this case, the informants of the study were the Media Information

Literacy and Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) teachers from the senior high school department of

Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac who were employed during the school year of 2021-2022.

According to Creswell (2013), the minimum number of respondents or informants for a

phenomenological study should at least be five. Using this as a basis, the researchers saw that

the total number of informants for their study did indeed comply with this suggested minimum

amount. They have concluded that three informants would be Media Information Literacy

teachers and the other two would be Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) teachers. These two groups

will be discussed separately and in further detail in this section.

Media Information Literacy Teachers

Due to the fact that social media was one of the major focuses of their study, the researchers,

taking into account their tight schedule and other constraints that were present, came to the

consensus that the insights and perspectives of the Media Information Literacy Teachers of the

senior high school department of Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac who were employed during

the school year of 2021-2022 were of extreme importance to them. Thus, these people were chosen

as one of the informants for the study that they were conducting. Aside from teaching Media
Information Literacy, the researchers also made sure to add to their criteria for selection that these

teachers have a degree or major in relevant fields such as Education Technology or IT/ICT

education. This was done to ensure that their area of expertise was in line with the focus of the

researchers’ study and that the information they provided was relevant.

Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) Teachers

Since the Russian Invasion of Ukraine was inherently a sociopolitical issue, the researchers

actively sought the input of people who were well-versed in these fields. Luckily for them, they

found this source of input in the Social Studies teachers of the senior high school department of

Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac. Specifically, they required the participation of UCSP

(Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics) and DISS (Disciplines and Ideas in the Social

Sciences) teachers who were employed during the school year of 2021-2022 as informants in their

study. Just as with the Media Information Literacy teachers, the researchers also stipulated that

these teachers must have degrees or majors in certain fields. In this case, they needed to have a

degree in education majoring in Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, History, Sociology,

and other related fields.

Data Gathering Procedure

Data Gathering Instrument

In order to effectively carry out their study, the researchers decided to utilize interviews as

their data gathering instrument. Of course, with the restrictions in place when their study was

conducted, face-to-face interviews with their informants was entirely ruled out in favor of using

online means of communication such as video conferences. With the permission of the informants

of this study, the interviews were recorded in order to archive all the information that was gathered.

The researchers themselves drafted the questions that were asked during the interviews and these

were subsequently verified by three professionals.

The researchers’ final decision to make use of interviews was influenced by a number of

factors, chief among them was the fact that interviews allowed the informants to fully express their

thoughts and observations without too much restrictions. For example, if the researchers used

surveys or questionnaires instead, then their informants would be restricted to the questions and

choices that they were presented with, thus limiting their potential input. In contrast, interviews

facilitated a free-flowing and natural conversation between the researchers and their informants,

with the questions only serving as general guidelines that determine the overall focus of the

interview. In addition to this, the informants possessed the ability to chime in at any point during

an interview in order to add more information or correct some statements, which is simply not

possible in surveys or questionnaires. Another advantage of using interviews lies in the

information and data that was collected. As stated previously, interviews allowed the informants

to relay their thoughts more freely compared to other data gathering instruments. This

characteristic of interviews directly impacted the collected information in terms of its depth and

comprehensiveness. This allowed the researchers to make more detailed and well-informed

theories and observations regarding the subject matter of their study.

 Seeing these advantages, the researchers quickly came to a unanimous decision to utilize

this particular data gathering instrument when they were conducting their study. They believed

that it was the most efficient and practical way of gathering truthful and detailed information from

their informants, thus making it easier for them to achieve their goal of gathering data from the

Media Information Literacy and Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) teachers from the senior high

school department of Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac who were employed from the school

year of 2021-2022.

Sampling Technique

The researchers chose to employ the quota sampling technique as well as the purposive

sampling technique for the study that they were conducting. These sampling techniques required

them to create subgroups that contained specific characteristics as well as devise certain criteria

and other relevant qualifications that the informants of their study must meet in order to participate.

In this case, they divided the informants into subgroups according to their subject area.

Additionally, the researchers also determined that all informants that participated in their study

must be qualified teachers in Media Information Literacy and Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) with

relevant degrees and majors working in the senior high school department of Don Bosco Technical

Institute Tarlac who were employed during the school year of 2021-2022. These particular

sampling methods were chosen due to several reasons. One of these reasons was that the quota and

purposive sampling techniques allowed the researchers to significantly narrow down the

informants that participated in their study only to the most qualified people that they had the means

of reaching out to given the limitations that were in place when their research was being conducted.

As a direct result of this, the researchers were still able to acquire accurate, relevant, and

meaningful information that immensely aided in the development of several theories and
observations within their research. It can also be said that the utilization of these sampling methods

allowed them to be efficient in conducting their study since it saved a lot of time in scouting for

informants and gathering information without severely compromising the quality and validity of

said information. This is due to the fact that the quota sampling method neatly divided the

informants of this study so that there would be a distinction between the perspectives of the Media

Information Literacy teachers and the Social Studies (UCSP & DISS) teachers. This saved the

researchers time since they didn’t have to constantly check from which group a piece of

information came from. Furthermore, the other sampling technique that was used, the purposive

sampling technique, is one of the most cost-effective and least time-consuming methods out there

since the reliance on recommendations and suggestions from other researchers like in snowball

sampling is not necessary and the criteria selection process was a very smooth and straightforward

one.