The TikTok Performances of Secondary ELA Teachers
Abstract views: 0
/ 
PDF downloads: 0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52380/ijcer.2025.12.4.874Keywords:
TikTok, Secondary ELA teacher, Performances, Re-enactmentAbstract
This paper describes a study on popular TikTok video content generated by secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers. We examined the TikTok videos through the frameworks of Goffman’s (1956) performances. The top 20 most-liked videos on 50 public secondary ELA teacher TikTok accounts were collected via three approaches and systematically reviewed. The categories of examined content were re-enactments, teacher tips, non-teacher related, trends, responding to comments/audience, and health. The findings reflect that TikToks are serving as performances that provide fronts, dramatic realizations, and idealizations for viewers and their understanding of the ELA teaching profession. These TikToks can be utilized to support current and aspiring ELA teachers.
References
Alvermann, D., Wright, W., & Wynee, E. (2024). Researching media literacy practices using both critical and posthuman inquiry. In P. Fastrez & N. Landry (Eds.), Media literacy and media education research methods. (pp. 97-115). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003045366-7
Barber, C. & Fecho, B. (2024). Possibilities and missed opportunities for generative dialogue: professional networking, online platforms and the English classroom. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 23(4), 428-441. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-04-2024-0054
Bush, J. & Howard, B. (Directors). (2021). Encanto. [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.
Carpenter, J. P., Morrison, S., Craft, M., & Lee, M. (2020), How and why are educators using Instagram?, Teaching and Teacher Education, 96(2020), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103149
Evans, S. & Hays, L. (2025). The student perceptions of the use of TikTok in education. Journal for Research and Practice in College Teaching, 10(1), 1-23.
Feldcamp, J. (2021). The rise of TikTok: The evolution of a social media platform during COVID-19. In C. Hovestadt, J. Recker, J. Richter, & K. Werder (Eds.), Digital responses to COVID-19: Digital innovation, transformation, and entrepreneurship during pandemic outbreaks. (pp. 73-85). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66611-8_6
Goffman, E. (1956). The presentation of self in everyday life. University of Edinburgh Social Sciences Research Center.
Harwell, D. (2022, October 14). How TikTok ate the internet. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2022/tiktok-popularity/
Herman, J. (2019, March 19). How TikTok is rewriting the world: TikTok will change the way your social media works — even if you’re avoiding it. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/style/what-is-tik-tok.html
Huston, J. (Director). (1982). Annie [Film]. Columbia Pictures.
Jerasa, S. & Ura, S. (2025). Learning from TikTok: Quality and reach of #TeacherTok as a classroom management tool for teacher education. TechTrends, 69, 1084-1093. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-025-01098-6
Kirk, J., & Miller, M. L. (1986). Reliability and validity in qualitative research. Sage.
Klein, A. (2023, March 22). TikTok is raising national security, privacy concerns. Should educators steer clear? Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/tiktok-is-raising-national-security-privacy-concerns-should-educators-steer-clear/2023/03
Lorenz, T. (2020, December 31). This is why you heard about TikTok so much in 2020. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/style/tiktok-trends-2020.html
Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A Sociological Study. London: University of Chicago Press.
Singh, S. (2025, November 12). How many people use TikTok in 2025. Demandsage. https://www.demandsage.com/tiktok-user-statistics/
Slotta, D. (2025, December 17). TikTok - statistics and facts. Statistica. https://www.statista.com/topics/6077/tiktok/?srsltid=AfmBOoqWi1yEBRCmvZMq_aN5RRckNZlrmQOschYxn50d7K7GVuxwtFsS#topicOverview
Vagle, M. D. (2009). Validity as intended: ‘bursting forth toward’ bridling in phenomenological research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(5), 585–605. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390903048784
Vizcaíno-Verdú, A. & Abidin, C. (2023). TeachTok: Teachers of TikTok, micro-celebrification, and fun learning communities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 123(2023), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103978
Won Hur, J., & Brush, T. A. (2014), Teacher participation in online communities: Why do teachers want to participate in self-generated online communities of K12 teachers?, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41(3), 279-303. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2009.10782532
Wright, W. T. (2021). Reality check: How adolescents use TikTok as a digital backchanneling medium to speak back against institutional discourses of school(ing). Radical Teacher, 119(2021), 61-67. https://doi.org/10.5195/rt.2021.777
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Lauren May, Heather Wright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
