Investigating social media for a limited number of Flemish teachers logically has implications for my research design. It is not my intention to find out how many tweets they send, how many tweets are favourited or retweeted. The motivation of teachers to use social media is personal and related to their current dispositions as a professional and their subjective view on education (Kelchtermans, 2009, p. 263).
The lack of Flemish research in the area fueled my grounded research approach. The way teachers use social media is related to the teachers' subjective theory (Kelchtermans, 2009 p. 263) and their interpretation of the concept of 'inspiration'. This might lead to misinterpretations, I agree. What teacher X interprets as inspiring is not necessarily inspiring for other teachers. I realise that differences in perception of the concept inspiration and meaningful use of the social media are varied. Nonetheless, the concept of inspiration as basis for professional development emerged clearly.
Although some questions in the semi-structured interviews were about how they use Twitter technically, the focus of the study is on the perceived value of Twitter. This perception is linked to the context of their practice, to their view on teaching and learning and to their beliefs on how technology is related to learning (Tondeur, 2008). Considering these varied perceptions and teachers’ life and professional stories, I was in need for an inductive, more narrative approach. My research methodology is therefore mainly qualitative.
> Suggested: read my methodology options.