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WhatsApp as a Mediational Infrastructure: Informal Parental Involvement and Pedagogical Drift in Jordanian Primary Education

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Title: WhatsApp as a Mediational Infrastructure: Informal Parental Involvement and Pedagogical Drift in Jordanian Primary Education
Language: English
Authors: Ruba Fahmi Bataineh (ORCID 0000-0002-5454-2206), Rula Bataineh (ORCID 0000-0002-4982-7338), Ali Al-Barakat (ORCID 0000-0002-2709-4962), Rommel AlAli (ORCID 0000-0001-7375-4856)
Source: Digital Education Review. 2026 (48):157-172.
Availability: Universitat de Barcelona. Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron 171, Edifici Llevant P3, Barcelona, 08035 Spain. e-mail: der@greav.net; Web site: http://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/der
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Descriptors: Social Media, Computer Mediated Communication, Parent Participation, Educational Change, Elementary Education, Foreign Countries, Mediation Theory, Decision Making, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Technology Uses in Education, Communication (Thought Transfer)
Geographic Terms: Jordan
ISSN: 2013-9144
Abstract: As teachers, we've learned that even a few hours without a reply on WhatsApp can cause problems." This reflection from a Jordanian primary school teacher captures the ambient expectations, emotional demands, and blurred boundaries increasingly shaping digital school-home communication. In under-resourced settings where institutional platforms are lacking, applications such as WhatsApp have become informal yet powerful infrastructures. This qualitative case study examines how WhatsApp mediates educational relationships, pedagogical decision-making, and parental involvement in one public primary school in northern Jordan. Drawing on sociocultural theory and Bronfenbrenner's updated bioecological model, including the techno-subsystem, the study conceptualizes WhatsApp as a sociotechnical infrastructure embedded in overlapping ecological systems. Data from interviews with five teachers, five parents, and one principal, alongside one parent-teacher WhatsApp group chat and two three-member focus groups, were thematically and discursively analyzed. Four themes emerged: blurred boundaries and constant availability, instruction shaped by platform pressure, shifting authority in WhatsApp groups, and unequal voice and digital exclusion. WhatsApp was reported to foster accessibility but also intensify emotional labor, weaken pedagogical autonomy, and marginalize less digitally fluent parents. These dynamics reflect a broader trend towards platformized governance in education. The study concludes by calling for co-designed communication protocols, ethical training, and public alternatives that promote equity, care, and sustainability.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1500399
Database: ERIC
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  Data: WhatsApp as a Mediational Infrastructure: Informal Parental Involvement and Pedagogical Drift in Jordanian Primary Education
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ruba+Fahmi+Bataineh%22">Ruba Fahmi Bataineh</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5454-2206">0000-0002-5454-2206</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rula+Bataineh%22">Rula Bataineh</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4982-7338">0000-0002-4982-7338</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ali+Al-Barakat%22">Ali Al-Barakat</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2709-4962">0000-0002-2709-4962</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rommel+AlAli%22">Rommel AlAli</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7375-4856">0000-0001-7375-4856</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Digital+Education+Review%22"><i>Digital Education Review</i></searchLink>. 2026 (48):157-172.
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  Data: Universitat de Barcelona. Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron 171, Edifici Llevant P3, Barcelona, 08035 Spain. e-mail: der@greav.net; Web site: http://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/der
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Media%22">Social Media</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+Mediated+Communication%22">Computer Mediated Communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Participation%22">Parent Participation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Change%22">Educational Change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mediation+Theory%22">Mediation Theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Decision+Making%22">Decision Making</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Teacher+Cooperation%22">Parent Teacher Cooperation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Technology+Uses+in+Education%22">Technology Uses in Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communication+%28Thought+Transfer%29%22">Communication (Thought Transfer)</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Jordan%22">Jordan</searchLink>
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  Data: 2013-9144
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  Data: As teachers, we've learned that even a few hours without a reply on WhatsApp can cause problems." This reflection from a Jordanian primary school teacher captures the ambient expectations, emotional demands, and blurred boundaries increasingly shaping digital school-home communication. In under-resourced settings where institutional platforms are lacking, applications such as WhatsApp have become informal yet powerful infrastructures. This qualitative case study examines how WhatsApp mediates educational relationships, pedagogical decision-making, and parental involvement in one public primary school in northern Jordan. Drawing on sociocultural theory and Bronfenbrenner's updated bioecological model, including the techno-subsystem, the study conceptualizes WhatsApp as a sociotechnical infrastructure embedded in overlapping ecological systems. Data from interviews with five teachers, five parents, and one principal, alongside one parent-teacher WhatsApp group chat and two three-member focus groups, were thematically and discursively analyzed. Four themes emerged: blurred boundaries and constant availability, instruction shaped by platform pressure, shifting authority in WhatsApp groups, and unequal voice and digital exclusion. WhatsApp was reported to foster accessibility but also intensify emotional labor, weaken pedagogical autonomy, and marginalize less digitally fluent parents. These dynamics reflect a broader trend towards platformized governance in education. The study concludes by calling for co-designed communication protocols, ethical training, and public alternatives that promote equity, care, and sustainability.
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 16
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      – SubjectFull: Social Media
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Computer Mediated Communication
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      – SubjectFull: Parent Participation
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Change
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      – SubjectFull: Elementary Education
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
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      – SubjectFull: Parent Teacher Cooperation
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      – SubjectFull: Technology Uses in Education
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      – SubjectFull: Jordan
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      – TitleFull: WhatsApp as a Mediational Infrastructure: Informal Parental Involvement and Pedagogical Drift in Jordanian Primary Education
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