Professional development through social media: A comparative study on male and female teachers' use of Facebook Groups

Remote Indonesian secondary mathematics teachers in educationally disadvantaged communities have limited access to professional development and educational resources. Female teachers have less access as cultural barriers restrict their engagement in face-to-face activities. Activity data from a three-year private professional development Facebook Group were analysed for gender related engagement. Whilst there were no significant overall gender differences in engagement, the data shows that cultural barriers did not inhibit female mathematics teachers' engagement, and that there were subtle differences in the content of posts between male and female participants, which created opportunities to enrich the professional development experience of both genders.