LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LITERACY: A LITERATURE REVIEW ON THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF SCHOOL MANAGEMENT IN SECONDARY EDUCATION

Abstract

This paper that examines how school management can strategically leverage social
media to enhance reading and writing among secondary school learners. Grounded in
Connectivism, the study employed a qualitative literature review and thematic analysis of
peer-reviewed research, policy documents, and educational reports. Through this
process, dominant themes were distilled to reveal the systemic and pedagogical factors
shaping digital literacy practices. Three key aspects emerged. First, management
practices that align social-media use with curriculum goals, ensure safe and responsible
participation, and provide structured support are essential for meaningful literacy
integration. Second, structural and governance constraints, including inconsistent
connectivity, limited device access, restrictive policies, and equity concerns, shape
whether social media becomes an enabling literacy resource. Third, instructional
leadership strategies such as sustained professional development, teacher collaboration,
and modelling of effective digital-literacy practices strengthen teachers’ confidence in
designing multimodal, networked literacy tasks. Recommendations emphasize the need
for clear school-wide digital literacy visions, supportive policies and infrastructure, and
continuous capacity building to foster effective and innovative use of social media for
literacy. The study concludes that coherent leadership and enabling conditions are critical
for cultivating inclusive, digitally connected learning environments, particularly in rural and
under-resourced contexts. Ethical procedures guided the use of secondary data.

Keywords: Social media integration; literacy; instructional leadership; governance and
policy; teacher professional development; Connectivism