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How can messaging apps, WhatsApp and SMS be
used to support learning? A scoping review
Katy Jordan
To cite this article: Katy Jordan (2023) How can messaging apps, WhatsApp and SMS be used
to support learning? A scoping review, Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 32:3, 275-288,
DOI: 10.1080/1475939X.2023.2201590
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2023.2201590
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa
UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis
Group.
Published online: 25 Apr 2023.
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How can messaging apps, WhatsApp and SMS be used to support
learning? A scoping review
Katy Jordan
Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
ABSTRACT
In response to disruption to education during the COVID-19 pandemic,
mobile phone-based messaging has emerged in some instances as an
accessible, low-connectivity way of promoting interactivity. However, no
recent reviews have been undertaken in relation to how social media and
messaging apps can be used to eectively support education in low- and
middle-income countries. In this scoping review, 43 documents were
identied for inclusion, and three main thematic areas emerged: support-
ing student learning (including interacting with peers and other students,
peer tutoring and collaborative learning; and interacting with teachers,
through content delivery, teaching and assessment); teacher professional
development (including structured support and prompts, and informal
communities of practice); and supporting refugee education. The discus-
sion and ndings are both of practical use, to inform responses to the
current pandemic and designing initiatives in the future, and will also be
useful for advancing research in this expanding eld.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 13 January 2021
Accepted 6 May 2022
KEYWORDS
SMS; WhatsApp; LMICs;
mobile phone; mobile
learning
Introduction
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, school closures have aected learners across the globe on an
unprecedented scale. At the peak of school closures in early 2020, approximately 90% of school-aged
learners were aected (Jordan et al., 2021). Adopting a combined approach of making educational
content available through radio, television and online platforms has frequently been used, in order
to maximise the number of learners which can be reached during school closures, across a range of
levels of technology access and online connectivity, with greater use of broadcast media in Low- and
Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) (Vegas, 2020).
However, examples have emerged of using messaging apps (such as WhatsApp, Facebook
Messenger or simply SMS) as a low-connectivity mechanism for educational content delivery, as
part of countries’ crisis responses alongside broadcast instruction (World Bank, 2020). Levels of low-
cost smartphone ownership have increased in recent years (McCrocklin, 2019), and in communities
where smartphone ownership is low, there is a potential role of local facilitators and volunteers to act
as a hub for the community (Sabates, 2020). The low data requirements are also key, being able to
distribute digital resources by mobile network coverage. Resources can be downloaded when the
phone owner has connectivity, and used oine later, in areas with low mobile coverage (Douse,
2020). Furthermore, messaging is likely being used in many more initiatives at localised levels – from
teachers, to schools and districts – as individuals adapt to the current situation.
Crucially, in addition to providing a network for delivering teaching materials or communicating
ocial information, messaging also has the advantage of interactivity. Provision of educational
CONTACT Katy Jordan [email protected] Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
TECHNOLOGY, PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION
2023, VOL. 32, NO. 3, 275–288
https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2023.2201590
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.
0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which
this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
content by broadcast media can be supplemented with reminders and basic guidance for parents
about activities to do with their children; messaging can also play a role in communication, support
and motivation between teachers and other educational practitioners. Two examples of pro-
grammes where WhatsApp is currently being used to facilitate delivery of resources to teachers
and support communication between teachers are the IGATE-T project in Zimbabwe (Power, 2020).
In Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Rising Academy Network responded quickly to the crisis, repurposing
existing content for use through radio, television and SMS in the ‘Rising on Air’ programme (Lamba &
Reimers, 2020).
The adoption of messaging platforms such as WhatsApp for educational purposes during the
COVID-19 crisis raises a question of what is currently known about how this medium can be used to
eectively support education. However, no recent reviews have been undertaken into the research
literature around messaging in education in LMICs. This review serves to address this gap; there is
a risk that its use during the crisis will be led by the technology and not informed by previous
research or eective practice. As it is prompted by school closures, the focus here is specically upon
how messaging may be used directly in relation to school-aged learners, and indirectly through
teachers’ development. The study was guided by the following research questions:
(1) What are the characteristics of the research literature published since 2010 about how
messaging apps and related technology (including SMS and social media-based messaging)
can be used to eectively support primary and secondary education in LMICs?
(2) What are the main themes within the existing research literature?
Method
The study used a systematic scoping review approach. Scoping reviews are related to systematic
reviews; both share a systematic, rigorous approach to searching and synthesis across the research
literature (Pham et al., 2014). However, scoping reviews dier in that the goal is typically to prole
the research landscape around a topic, and identify gaps, rather than evaluate the evidence in
relation to a specic question (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005). Scoping reviews follow a protocol and are
explicit in documenting the process of literature searching, screening, and the reasons why studies
have been selected for inclusion.
Literature searches were carried out in August 2020, using four of the main scholarly databases
(ERIC, Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Knowledge) and the following search string: (”skype” OR
”telegram” OR ”whatsapp” OR ”social media” or ”sms” or ”text messag*” or ”facebook”) AND
(”education” OR ”school”) AND (”africa” OR ”LMIC” OR ”developing world” OR ”developing countr*”
OR ”ICT4D” OR ”global south” OR ”refugees”). The number of bibliographic records identied and the
screening process are depicted in Figure 1, based on the PRISMA framework for reporting literature
reviews (Moher et al., 2009). The criteria for inclusion and exclusion are shown in Table 1.
During initial screening, the criteria were applied at the level of title and abstract. At the screen
round, full texts were considered. The most frequent reasons for exclusion were a focus on health
rather than education, or on higher education rather than school-aged learners or teachers. Further
studies (particularly reports, and recently published works) were identied through snowball sam-
pling, and recommendations from others. In total, 43 studies were included.
To address the rst research question, the studies were categorised according to a range of
characteristics. The second research question was addressed by analysing the studies thematically,
to explore emergent trends in the literature. Given the exploratory nature of the inquiry, an a priori
coding scheme was not used. Instead, an inductive approach to categorisation and thematic analysis
was used, by examining prominent themes and clusters in the literature sample while bearing in
mind the overall research question. Through this process, three major themes, two comprising two
sub-themes, were identied (number of studies shown in brackets):
276 K. JORDAN
●
Supporting student learning
(a) Content delivery, teaching and assessment (9)
(b) Peer tutoring and collaborative learning (9)
●
Teacher professional development
(a) Structured prompts and coaching (9)
Figure 1. Modified PRISMA flow chart depicting the processes for selection and inclusion of publications for the study (after
Moher et al., 2009).
Table 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Inclusion criteria Exclusion criteria
Population Elementary and/or secondary school students (ages 5
to 19) in LMICs, including out-of-school children.
Individuals involved in supporting school-aged
students (e.g. teachers, parents, caregivers).
High-income countries (HICs).
Adult education – tertiary education, higher
education, technical and vocational education
(exception: teacher education).
Intervention Must include use of WhatsApp, social media, SMS or
other forms of mobile-based messaging apps for
educational purposes.
Studies which make only passing reference to this (e.g.
levels of phone use/ownership), or do not have an
explicit link to education (e.g. health).
Study
design
Must be empirically based, presenting research
findings and evidence.
Theoretical papers, position papers, review papers or
opinion pieces.
Date Published between 2010 and the present day (mid-
2020)
Published before 2010
TECHNOLOGY, PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION 277
(b) Communities of practice (10)
●
Supporting education in refugee contexts (6)
Results and discussion
The most frequent article type within the sample are journal articles (23), followed by conference
papers (13), working papers and reports (6) and book chapters (1). The distribution of articles within
the sample according to publication year is shown in Figure 2. More than half of the articles had been
published within the past two years (28). The countries which were the focus of the articles are
shown in Figure 3.
The papers included in the sample include a range of research approaches (Table 2). Where
specied, a range of sample sizes in terms of the number of participants were included. Note that for
some of the papers reporting on online data mining, numbers of posts or interactions were given
rather than number of participants, but these would suggest a large sample size.
Of the papers which addressed a specic grade or age group (23 did not), ten focused upon
primary education (approximately up to age 12), nine on secondary education and one upon both. In
terms of subject area, the most frequent focal areas were literacy (15 papers) and numeracy (nine
papers). One paper focused on information technology and one on health, while 17 were not specic
(mainly focused upon teachers).
The topics and content of the literature were examined in further detail by thematic analysis. In
the following sections, the themes and studies which contributed to each theme are discussed.
Supporting student learning
The ‘supporting student learning’ theme includes studies in which technology was used to support
interactions with – or between – learners. It comprises two sub-themes: peer tutoring and colla-
borative learning; and content delivery, teaching and assessment.
Figure 2. Frequency of articles within the sample, according to publication year. Note that 2020 is incomplete as searches were
undertaken in August.
278 K. JORDAN
Peer tutoring and collaborative learning
In ‘peer tutoring’ models, messaging has been used as a communication medium between high
school students and university undergraduates in relevant subjects in the role of tutor. One of the
earliest studies included in the sample follows this model. From 2007, ‘Dr Math’ connected South
African pupils to undergraduate student tutors via the mobile phone-based Mxit messaging platform
(Butgereit et al., 2010), and expanded from mathematics to include other STEM subjects (Beyers &
Blignaut, 2015). Although no evaluations of its eect on learning outcomes were found, Dr Math
peaked at 37,000 users in 2013, but ceased operations after this as use of the host Mxit platform
declined (Budree & Hendriks, 2019).
Findings from a recent survey of learners in South Africa suggest that there is still a potential
role for similar peer-tutoring platforms, with a preference for WhatsApp. Referring to the
experiences of Dr Math, the authors recommend materials should be designed in ways which
supported repurposing to be run through dierent platforms (Budree & Hendriks, 2019). Taking
a lead from Dr Math, Campbell (2019) reported on a WhatsApp-based project which connected
groups of ve South African high school students to undergraduate tutors. Tutees could submit
mathematics questions when encountering diculties with homework problems, and they were
also sent messages to improve motivation and aspirations for higher education. Although the
eects on learning outcomes and longer-term impacts were not assessed, the project drew upon
Figure 3. Countries which are the focus of articles within the sample. The two most frequent countries are South Africa and
Kenya, with 10 articles each.
Table 2. Frequency of research designs and sample sizes within the sampled papers.
Number of papers
Research design
Design-based research 1
Experimental and quasi-experimental 10
Interviews or focus groups 4
Mixed methods (including case studies) 16
Digital data (including data mining, and messages) 10
Participatory action research 1
Survey 1
Sample size
30 or fewer 8
30 to 100 9
100 to 1000 10
>1000 6
TECHNOLOGY, PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION 279
a range of data types using an iterative development process and determined several key design
principles for facilitating peer tutoring. These included considering communication and organisa-
tion; scaolding, error management and cognitive conict; and emotional factors that inuence
learning (Campbell, 2019).
‘Collaborative learning’ includes studies where the connection is focused upon group activities
and discussions between learners of a similar age. However, along with peer tutoring, small-scale
studies form the research base and there is little evidence linking to learning outcomes, so this area
would benet from further research. Similar to peer tutoring, there is a focus upon maths, but studies
also address other subject areas, including English and Health. Jere et al. (2019) reported on the
experiences of a single WhatsApp-based study group, comprising 10 South African Grade 12 learners
and one mathematics teacher. Communication within the group was unstructured, and ndings
suggested positive experiences of collaborative learning, sharing resources and extending educa-
tional time beyond the classroom. In a small-scale experimental design reported by Çetinkaya (2019),
WhatsApp was used to support a problem-based learning activity for Grade 9 Maths students in
Turkey. The group which received the intervention – a WhatsApp group and a virtual stock exchange
app – outperformed the learners in the control group in the post-test. Furthermore, feedback from
students showed that perceived benets included exibility in terms of when and where to learn,
sharing resources and organising activities (Çetinkaya, 2019).
Focusing upon on English as a subject area, Rwodzi et al. (2020) presented a case study of the
experiences of 6 teachers and 12 learners using WhatsApp (and other social media) in a South African
school; similar to other studies, perceived benets include building group communication and being
able to use multiple modalities to communicate and share information. Suhaimi et al. (2019)
examined the use of WhatsApp to support a structured activity (the ‘Curriculum Cycle’) with eight
Grade 6 primary learners in Malaysia. Although students showed an increase in test scores post-
intervention, the sample was too small to be conclusive.
While not focused on academic subjects, Della Líbera and Jurberg (2020) presented a study which
is notable in that it was an initiative for supporting visually impaired students. Using mobile devices
equipped with assistive technology, WhatsApp was used to facilitate discussions on a range of
health-related topics within a group of 13 students and three teachers in Brazil. Although the
impacts were not evaluated, the initiative provides proof-of-concept; over the course of 11 weeks,
the group successfully held discussions on a range of topics, with varying levels of individual
engagement.
Content delivery, teaching and assessment
This sub-theme includes examples where learners interact with teachers, directly or indirectly.
Messaging may be used as a medium to distribute educational materials, and also in activities which
allow students to interact with teachers.
The MobiLiteracy Uganda Program is a signicant example of delivering educational content at
scale via messaging (Pouezevara & King, 2014). A total of 168 parents, with children in Grades 1 and
2, took part in the programme and were assigned to one of three groups (content delivered daily by
mobile phone; content delivered as paper copies; or control group, receiving a single, verbal
message). Parents played a key role as educator in this model, which is particularly important to
note for reaching younger learners and highly relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both groups
which received the intervention showed increased learning gains in comparison with the control
group, and no signicant dierences were found between paper and mobile-based delivery.
Additionally, the material did empower parents to actively support their children’s education
(Pouezevara & King, 2014). A smaller-scale example compared delivery of content through
WhatsApp and textbooks with English students in Iran and found no signicant dierence in test
scores between the two groups (Dehghan et al., 2017). The comparable impacts of dierent media in
both studies suggest that paper-based resources may be cheaper but just as eective; however,
messaging may bring other aordances over printed materials alone, such as ease of delivery.
280 K. JORDAN
The role of parents and caregivers is a key part of any intervention supporting education in the
context of home rather than school. Simple text-message-based reminders have demonstrated
improvements in promoting reading with young children in HICs (York et al., 2018). Madaio et al.
(2019) considered how such interventions could be adapted for low-literacy caregivers, through
interviews with parents in Côte d’Ivoire. Parents are keen to be involved and already support their
children’s literacy development, although levels of literacy vary, and they expressed a preference for
French. The authors make practical suggestions for designing potential interventions, including
drawing on culturally relevant examples for activities, and designing for interaction and support
with a wider group than parents alone, such as siblings and other peers (Madaio et al., 2019).
Student–teacher interactions through messaging have been the subject of several large-scale
analyses. Although the studies included in their review fall outside of the time period for inclusion in
the analysis here, Valk et al. (2010) reviewed several early mobile learning-based pilot studies in
LMICs in Asia, several of which used SMS for assessment. The earliest study in this sub-theme
presents ndings from an EdTech intervention undertaken with 24 schools in Pakistan. While the
main form of technology used was satellite-linked tablet computers, SMS were used to communicate
the results of learners’ assessments to parents, community workers and educational administrators
(Zualkernan et al., 2014).
Assessment, such as multiple-choice practice questions, can potentially be automated. Poon et al.
(2019) evaluated a system of practice exam questions posed to Cameroonian high school students,
via WhatsApp and SMS. Correct answers, feedback and further questions were provided in response.
Although learning outcomes were not measured, benets to students included being prompted to
study, including discussing the quizzes with their peers as a result. Limitations included the extent to
which content matched the curriculum, unfamiliarity interacting with automated messaging, and
the need to design systems which users (and phone gatekeepers) will trust (Poon et al., 2019).
An example of large-scale research undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, Angrist, Bergman,
Brewster, et al. (2020) presented a randomised control trial of an intervention using phone calls and
SMS messages to support education during school closures in Botswana. A total of 4500 families with
children in Grades 3 to 5 were assigned to one of three groups: sent SMS-based numeracy ‘problems
of the week’; sent SMS and also support phone calls to discuss the problems; or a control group. Both
interventions resulted in signicant learning gains and increased parental engagement, with those
receiving SMS and a phone call showing greater improvement than SMS alone (Angrist, Bergman,
Brewster, et al., 2020). However, the endline results (published after the literature search was
undertaken) show that the eects of the SMS-alone intervention fade over time (Angrist, Bergman,
& Matsheng, 2020).
Although the discussion so far within this sub-theme has considered content delivery and teacher
support separately, both can be combined through SMS, which is the model used by Eneza
Education and its ‘Shupavu291’ product. Shupavu291 is a mobile phone-based educational platform
which provides learners with curriculum-linked educational materials and quizzes, and allows users
to submit questions to teachers, via SMS. Large-scale data collected from Kenyan Shupavu291 users
through the platform have provided the basis for three papers which used data mining to examine
patterns within student engagement, and possible predictors of success. Chen and Kizilcec (2020)
examined patterns of disengagement and re-engagement with the platform; similar to engagement
with Massive Open Online Courses, a large proportion of learners initially log in but then disengage
with the platform. However, Shupavu291 users are more likely to resume use at a later date (Chen &
Kizilcec, 2020). Kizilcec and Chen (2020) examined usage patterns in further detail through
a thorough statistical analysis of interactions with the platform. As Shupavu291 content is aligned
to the curriculum, use varies according to the school year; higher levels of activity are associated with
self-directed study in school holidays and in preparation for examinations. While the study provides
insights into how the platform is used to complement formal schooling, the authors did not nd
evidence to suggest that use of the platform is associated with enhanced learning outcomes (Kizilcec
& Chen, 2020). Kizilcec and Goldfarb (2019) combined interaction log data with survey responses
TECHNOLOGY, PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION 281
from 942 users to examine whether personal characteristics can be used to predict student success.
Factors associated with higher quiz scores included: possessing a stronger growth mindset; gender
(higher quiz scores associated with female students); higher school grades; and greater satisfaction
with the learning environment (Kizilcec & Goldfarb, 2019).
Teacher professional development
The second major theme is the use of messaging to support teacher professional development
(TPD), and it comprises two sub-themes: structured prompts and coaching, which represents a more
formal use of messaging for TPD; and communities of practice, which are often less formal, peer
networks of teachers.
Structured prompts and coaching
Studies within this sub-theme show how messaging can be used as part of simple, eective
strategies to enhance teachers’ practices and motivation. The earliest study within this sub-theme
focuses upon ‘English in Action’, a professional development programme for English teachers in
Bangladesh (Power et al., 2012). The main purpose of the intervention was to distribute materials to
teachers via mobile devices and pre-loaded SD cards; additionally, the use of SMS messaging as
a way of prompting reection was piloted. However, the lack of support from mobile phone
providers for Bangla-language SMS, and the character limits at the time, limited the ecacy of
messaging.
Similarly, the SMS Story initiative used SMS to deliver daily content, including stories and lesson
plans, to English teachers, initially in Papua New Guinea with 42 Grade 1 and 2 teachers across 20
schools in remote areas. Data collected mid-intervention showed an increase in a range of classroom
practices. The evaluation highlighted practical design considerations including reducing the costs of
mass SMS; timing of sending messages earlier, so teachers have more time to prepare; and ways to
incorporate a wider range of media (Kaleebu et al., 2013). Learning outcomes were not assessed;
however, the model was subsequently replicated in India (Pratham & VSO, 2015). Over 2400 students,
from Grades 4 to 8, across 50 schools, participated in the study, including an intervention and
a control group for comparison. Pupils in the intervention group were found to have increased gains
on a range of reading measures, compared to the control group. Recommendations for future
development included: developing stories and lesson plans tailored to dierent local settings;
incorporating more textbook materials into the stories; and considering a wider range of technology
(such as WhatsApp) (Pratham & VSO, 2015).
Two studies focus on professional development for educational leaders. The ‘Leadership for
Learning’ programme was undertaken in Ghana and used SMS messages via Skype as a way to
communicate with the cohort of 175 participants (Swaeld et al., 2013). Messages sent via Skype
included announcements, prompts, feedback requests and sharing participant responses. Although
the study did not evaluate the impact of the activity on participants’ learning or practice, the levels of
engagement and discussion were promising. Also focused on educational leadership training in
Ghana, Brion (2019) reported on an initiative using a WhatsApp group with 23 participants following
short face-to-face training sessions. Conversation triggers were sent to the participants as a group in
order to sustain discussion about the training after the sessions, and evaluated by interviews with
participants who reported benets including being reminded about the training contents, network-
ing, enhanced motivation and peer learning (Brion, 2019).
Two further studies provide robust evidence that using messaging as part of a blended
approach provides contact and continuity between face-to-face sessions. The Health and Literacy
Intervention project had an overall goal of improving literacy in Grades 1 and 2 at government
schools in Kenya, part of which included activities undertaken with teachers (Jukes et al., 2017).
Teachers were supported through three activity types: provision of sequential semi-scripted lesson
plans; a three-day training workshop for teachers; and continued support for two years, by text
282 K. JORDAN
messaging. The ecacy of the intervention was measured using a cluster randomised controlled trial
research design, across a substantial sample (101 schools, half assigned to control and half to the
intervention, equating to approximately 2500 children in total). Literacy-related outcomes were
measured using a range of educational assessments, and classroom observations and interviews
with teachers were also conducted. The analysis showed that the intervention led to a change in
classroom practices and sustained positive impacts in terms of most of the measures of children’s
literacy after two years, with greater benets for girls (Jukes et al., 2017).
SMS was also used to support continued development after training sessions as part of the
Malawi Early Grade Reading Activity project (Kipp, 2017; Slade et al., 2018), as a cost-eective,
scalable way to maintain coaching of teachers between sessions. Over a period of six weeks
following training, at least three messages were sent to teachers per week, on topics including
teaching practices, student behaviour and motivation (Slade et al., 2018). The study also presents
a discussion about the relative cost-eectiveness of SMS. Although early results suggested that the
SMS campaign had a positive impact (Kipp, 2017), the ecacy of the SMS intervention was, however,
inconclusive, owing in part to the fact that a number of the teachers receiving the messages then
shared them with others (Slade et al., 2018).
The use of messaging alongside TPD needs to be designed for meaningful interactivity, however.
In contrast to the other examples, Mtebe et al. (2015) presented a study in which SMS-based quizzes
were used to assess teachers’ subject knowledge, following a training programme. Based in
Tanzania, 486 teachers took part over a period of eight weeks. Few teachers scored highly, and
most of the participants disagreed that the initiative had improved their knowledge and skills, and
was convenient or enjoyable. This is attributed in part to technical issues around reliability of
receiving SMS on time, and limitations of the format (Mtebe et al., 2015). Assessment alone, without
feedback and support, may not be an eective use of the technology.
Communities of practice
This sub-theme is distinct from the previous section in that the examples here focus on commu-
nication within groups of teachers, often to share experiences and reect upon their practice.
Initiatives in this category may still be part of TPD training, but in contrast to the previous sub-
theme, use is free-form and not structured. In contrast to the previous sub-theme, studies here tend
to oer smaller scale and more localised examples; while generally benecial, there is less evidence
for potential to scale eectively.
Ndlovu and Hanekom (2014) evaluated an intervention which used WhatsApp in order to
compensate for the lack of interactivity in primarily telematic TPD sessions at Stellenbosch
University, South Africa. Seventy-three STEM trainee teachers participated; qualitative analysis of
conversations and feedback suggests that the intervention was an eective way of building teachers’
subject and pedagogical knowledge, and networking between teachers (Ndlovu & Hanekom, 2014).
Also focused on trainee teachers in South Africa, Mabaso and Meda (2019) presented a small-scale
qualitative analysis of a WhatsApp group comprising two lecturers and 16 students. In addition to
being a channel for logistical course-related information, it was also perceived to be useful in
collaborative learning, and providing students with a further way to discuss their course with the
lecturers (Mabaso & Meda, 2019). The perceived value of contact and interaction with lecturers is
highlighted by Habibi et al. (2018), in their study of 42 student teachers’ use of social networking
tools (including WhatsApp and Telegram, as messaging services) in Indonesia, while undertaking
teaching practice.
Moodley (2019) oered a further example of how WhatsApp can be used to build communities
alongside formal TPD, with a group of 18 teachers in a rural part of South Africa. The group actively
discussed curriculum and assessment issues and demonstrated the potential of WhatsApp for
continued monitoring of in-service teachers, particularly in rural areas. Issues of TPD may be
particularly important in rural areas, where teacher shortages may be more acute than in urban
areas, and there may be fewer opportunities for TPD. The use of WhatsApp was part of a wider
TECHNOLOGY, PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION 283
professional development and monitoring programme (the ‘AmritaRITE’ programme) in rural India
(Nedungadi et al., 2018). The programme combined the use of remote teacher monitoring through
specialised apps with use of WhatsApp ’to send photos and text regarding daily attendance,
assessment records, activities like yoga, community services etc’. (Nedungadi et al., 2018, p. 120).
A total of 8968 WhatsApp messages from 26 participants were used for the analysis, which showed
that discussion topics aligned with the project’s goals of enhancing attendance, teacher empower-
ment and community engagement (Nedungadi et al., 2018). Further examples of the potential for
messaging apps and social media to foster informal professional networks can be found in Pakistan,
Bhutan (Impedovo et al., 2019) and India (Wolfenden et al., 2017). Both also highlight the link
between networks and sharing of Open Educational Resources.
Much larger informal communities can be better supported by other forms of social media, as
messaging groups are not open to organic internet trac in the way that Facebook groups are, for
example. Bett and Makewa (2020) illustrated how Facebook groups can be used for similar purposes –
to build support and enhance subject and pedagogical knowledge – at a much larger scale. It is also
worth noting that online community groups can also benet caregivers of children with special
educational needs; for example, Cole et al. (2017) examined the use of a WhatsApp group to support
caregivers of children with autism in South Africa. It is worth noting, however, that dierent messaging
tools can have dierent aordances in this context. Sun et al. (2018) provided a comparison of dierent
tools (discussion posts via Moodle, or messaging via WeChat) used in a learning activity intended to
promote communication and interaction between 78 pre-service teachers in China. While Moodle use
was found to be associated with a greater degree of collaborative learning and knowledge exchange,
greater social interaction occurred via WeChat (Sun et al., 2018).
Supporting education in refugee contexts
A small but distinct group of papers focuses on education in refugee contexts. Papers within this
group are diverse – including refugee students and teachers, within refugee camps and destinations.
The use of messaging in this group of papers highlights how it can play a role in supporting
education in usually hard-to-reach settings. This is also an emergent area for research, with all the
papers being published within the past three years.
WhatsApp played a key role in delivering course materials to student teachers in the Dabaab
Refugee Camp in Kenya. The Borderless Higher Education for Refugees project changed its delivery
model from using a standard LMS, to a combination of WhatsApp and WordPress blogs, as students
primarily used WhatsApp for communication (Sork & Boskic, 2017). Mendenhall (2017) reported on
a collaborative TPD programme led by a team at the Teachers College at Columbia University (USA)
to support teachers in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. A hundred and thirty teachers took part in
the programme, which included teacher training workshops, peer coaching (of groups of other
teachers) and mobile mentoring (connecting individual teachers with mentors in the USA). The
combination of elements reects ndings in relation to the TPD section, discussed earlier. The
programme was regarded as successful; see Mendenhall (2017) for a full discussion of the outcomes,
and challenges, of the programme. Use of WhatsApp was a key part of the mobile mentoring part of
the programme; analysis of the messages reveals a wide range of topics for discussion and support,
with main themes being pedagogy; child protection, wellbeing and inclusion; teacher’s role and
wellbeing; and curriculum and planning (Mendenhall, 2017).
Two further studies address of the use of WhatsApp by student teachers in refugee camps and the
types of interaction and discussion supported by the technology in this context. Dahya et al. (2019)
focused on the use of WhatsApp and SMS to support discussions with peers (other teachers) and
international instructors (based in Canada). The analysis also suggests that women are more likely
than men to make use of this form of support, and as such it may promote gender equity (Dahya
et al., 2019). Motteram et al. (2020) focused upon a WhatsApp group used by 27 Syrian English
teachers within the Zataari refugee camp in Jordan, as part of a course run by the British Council. The
284 K. JORDAN
analysis reveals similarity with chats with international mentors, but with greater emphasis on peer
learning and shared experiences:
the WhatsApp group contributed to the teachers’ English language knowledge, provided a platform for
them to share and discuss issues related to the challenges of their particular context, enabled them to
contribute to the development of some teaching materials and begin to address some of the issues they had
in a meaningful way. (Motteram et al., 2020, p. 5731)
Fewer papers in this category have focused on the perspectives of refugee learners. Working with
youths in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, Bellino and the Kakuma Youth Research Group (2018)
described a novel research process, using ethnography and participatory action research, to co-
develop a social media platform to support the educational and social support needs of young
people within the camp. Linked to the earlier theme of peer tutoring, Shekaliu et al. (2018) presented
an analysis of a large Facebook group run by a volunteer organisation in Malaysia, ‘Let’s tutor
a refugee child’. Note that while this study reports on the use of social media to support refugees
who have arrived in an upper-middle income country, there is a larger body of work focusing on
similar support for refugees within HICs (not within the scope of this review).
Conclusions
This review has provided an overview of the academic literature focused upon the use of mobile
phone-based messaging – including basic SMS, and messaging through social media and apps – to
support education of school-aged learners in LMICs. As a literature review approach, a scoping
review has advantages in terms of being transparent and reproducible; however, it also has limita-
tions. The search strategy sets the bounds for the review, and necessarily excludes some potential
searches outside of the inclusion criteria. While a focus on searching academic databases ensures
that articles have been peer-reviewed, this also excludes grey literature. This was mitigated to some
extent by snowball sampling and recommendations. Nonetheless, the trends in the literature
suggest that this is a topic around which there is growing interest, and this review will help move
the eld forward.
The articles reviewed suggest that the use of messaging can have positive eects for educa-
tion in LMICs, and the ndings have practical implications for educators during the current crisis
and beyond. The review also reveals gaps for future research. Longer-term impacts and eects
upon learning outcomes are rarely considered. Detailed consideration of the issue of safeguard-
ing was notably lacking across the sample. By focusing on published academic research, the
review does not draw upon projects which are currently in progress and have not had ndings
published yet. Given the shift to remote and distance education necessitated by the pandemic,
there is likely to be further research on this topic published in the future. While the studies here
all suggest that the use of messaging has good potential for promoting a range of positive
outcomes for education in LMICs and times of crisis, both for learners and teachers, further robust
evidence is required to take the principles demonstrated in small-scale studies to larger pro-
grammes at scale.
Acknowledgments
This research was undertaken through EdTech Hub (http://www.edtechhub.org), and is funded by the UK government
(Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Oce, previously Department for International Development). The author
would like to thank Joel Mitchell for assistance with literature screening and advice in relation to refugee education, and
Dr Kalifa Damani and Dr Alison Buckler for their feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript. An earlier version of
the paper had been made openly available through the EdTech Hub website as a rapid evidence review for policy-
makers as part of its COVID-19 emergency response (doi: 10.5281/zenodo.4058181).
TECHNOLOGY, PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION 285
Disclosure statement
No potential conict of interest was reported by the author.
Funding
The work was supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Oce, through The EdTech Hub
Notes on contributor
Katy Jordan is a senior research associate at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. She is part of FCDO-
funded EdTech Hub, the world’s largest educational technology research programme, and principal investigator for one
of the Hub’s current research projects. Her research interests focus on the use of technology to support education in
a range of contexts. She has published research on projects including digital scholarship, social media in higher
education, massive open online courses, and technology and equity.
ORCID
Katy Jordan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0910-0078
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