Abstract

This study investigates the impact of social media in enhancing the professional proficiency of special education educators in Palestine. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research collected quantitative data through structured questionnaires administered to 66 educators and qualitative data via semi-structured interviews with 8 educators who had over 10 years of experience. The findings revealed that social media platforms contribute to professional development by enhancing communication, enabling resource sharing, and offering access to educational tools and professional networks. Teachers reported high levels of agreement across technological, professional, and cultural dimensions related to social media use. The study revealed no significant differences in perceptions across gender, academic qualifications, or experience, indicating a shared view of social media’s benefits. Interviews emphasized key advantages as well as challenges such as privacy concerns, content credibility, and limited training. The study recommends offering digital-literacy training, creating online professional communities, and improving institutional digital infrastructure to support ethical and effective use of social media in special education.

Keywords—social media, professional proficiency, special education educators, professional development, Palestine

Title

International Journal of Information and Education Technology

Publisher

International Journal of Information and Education Technology

Publisher Country

Singapore

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

3.2

Publication Type

Online only

Volume

16

Year

2026

Pages

6