Research article | Open Access
International Journal of Research in Fine Arts Education 2025, Vol. 8(2) 75-103
A Visual Culture Analysis on the Experience of the Social Media Management within the Erasmus+ Program
pp. 75 - 103
Publish Date: December 30, 2025 | Single/Total View: 16/8 | Single/Total Download: 29/21
Abstract
Introduction
In this study, the visual culture elements observed on the social media platform were analyzed based on the experiences gained during the social media management internship carried out in Porto Sant’Elpidio, Italy, within the Erasmus+ program. The participants of this study consist of a pre-service teacher along with 9 parent participants, making a total of 10 people. As a criterion for selecting the parent participants, those who were active in reels sharing and who provided feedback on social media platforms were chosen. According to an announcement published on the Erasmusintern website, the institution expanded these activities by including art and art-related events and published a call for applications for an intern with an Art and Design education background to work as a Social Media Manager or Photographer to disseminate these activities via social media. Based on this announcement, the researcher was accepted for the internship.
The Purpose of The Study
This study aims to conduct a visual culture analysis on how social media management is carried out within the international Erasmus+ program.
Method
In this contex, two main themes were identified in the research findings: “social media management” and “visual culture strategies”. To establish meaningful patterns within the research data, codes were derived from interviews, documents, and social media posts, from which categories and themes were determined. In the presentation of the findings, visual posts and social media content were included while presenting the patterns, and rhizomatic relationships were established for interpretation.
Findings
In this study, the findings were obtained through social media content and daily recordings. It was observed that the shared content reflected cultural diversity. Alongside snapshots from daily life, most of the posts consisted of activities conducted within the institution. In the content, not only aesthetic appeal but also the ability to convey the activities was among the prioritized features. To effectively communicate the intended messages to the target audience, the produced content was supported by detailed text, using a strategy aimed at strengthening engagement with the audience. This strategy not only increased the amount of information acquired by the target audience but also contributed to gaining them as followers. To examine how social media management was implemented, visual documents were utilized, consisting of daily lesson plans and activities documented on a daily basis.
Results
As a result of this study, the teacher candidate’s visual culture interactions were examined through their internship experience. The candidate managed the social media account of an educational camp by utilizing visual culture elements and strategies and experienced that content production for social media is not merely a technical process but a cultural practice encompassing dimensions such as ethics and pedagogy. The experiences gained showed that carefully selected visual elements not only represented the institution’s image but also contributed to the production of social values. Throughout the social media management process, the teacher candidate successfully executed stages of planning, organizing, managing, and strategy implementation, thus contributing to the main goal of establishing the institution’s brand value with a professional image. The multicultural nature of the summer camp internship requires careful attention to intercultural interaction, visual selection, symbols, written language, and spoken language. It was observed that visuals and videos featuring students from cultural backgrounds emphasized diversity and represented togetherness. The internship took place within a structed work environment, where established routines contributed positively to professional development. In conclusion, visual culture elements observed on the social media platform were analyzed in this study. The analyses indicated that visual culture elements were frequently utilized on social media platforms, effectively serving objectives such as corporate representation, professional image, and brand value.
Keywords: Visual culture, social media management, intercultural interaction, Erasmus
APA 7th edition
Urker, S.Z., & Guler, E. (2025). A Visual Culture Analysis on the Experience of the Social Media Management within the Erasmus+ Program. International Journal of Research in Fine Arts Education, 8(2), 75-103.
Harvard
Urker, S. and Guler, E. (2025). A Visual Culture Analysis on the Experience of the Social Media Management within the Erasmus+ Program. International Journal of Research in Fine Arts Education, 8(2), pp. 75-103.
Chicago 16th edition
Urker, Sule Zeynep and Ebru Guler (2025). "A Visual Culture Analysis on the Experience of the Social Media Management within the Erasmus+ Program". International Journal of Research in Fine Arts Education 8 (2):75-103.
Kaynakça
Amedie, J. (2015). The impact of social media on society. Pop Culture Intersections, 2, 1-15.
Allen, T., & Webb, J. (2004). Visual Culture. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Altaş, Ş. (2014). Sosyal paylaşım sitesi Facebook aracılığı ile gerçekleştirilen görsel kültür çalışmalarının ortaokul 3. sınıf öğrencilerinin resimsel anlatımlarına yansıması (Yüksek lisans tezi, Anadolu Üniversitesi, Türkiye).
Avrupa Birliği Başkanlığı. (n.d.). Erasmus programı. https://www.ab.gov.tr/erasmus-programi_53081.html
Başaran, Y. K. (2024). Sosyal bilimlerde örnekleme kuramı. The Journal of Academic Social Science, 47(47), 480–495.
Bedir Erişti S. D. & Duncum P. (2022). Görsel Pedagoji ile Tanışma S. D. B. Erişti (Ed.), Görsel Pedagoji (ss. 1-21). Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
Bedir Erişti, S.D. (2020). Görsel kültür ve sanat eğitimi. S. Tuna ve A.O. Alakuş (Ed.), Görsel sanatlar öğretimi içinde (s. 157-214). Ankara: Nobel Yayınları.
Benthaus, J., Risius, M., & Beck, R. (2016). Social media management strategies for organizational impression management and their effect on public perception. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 25(2), 127–139.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2014). What can “thematic analysis” offer health and wellbeing researchers? International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 9(1), 26152.
Bucar, E. M. (2016). The ethics of visual culture. Journal of Religious Ethics, 44(1), 7–16.
Cahnmann-Taylor, M., & Siegesmund, R. (2008). Arts-based research in education: Foundations for practice. Routledge.
Coşkun, N. (2022). Görsel kültür. S. D. B. Erişti (Ed.), Görsel Pedagoji (ss. 23-47). Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
Çığır, E. (2016). Görsel sanatlar öğretimine yönelik sosyal ağ odaklı görsel kültür uygulamalarının incelenmesi (Doktora tezi, Anadolu Üniversitesi, Türkiye).
Darley, A. (2002). Visual Culture: An introduction. London:Routledge
Dewing, M. (2010). Social media: An introduction (Vol. 1). Ottawa: Library of Parliament.
Duncum, P. (2002). Visual culture art education: Why, what and how. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 21(1), 14–23.
Educamp. (n.d.). EduCamp resmî sitesi. https://educamp.coni.it/educamp-tab-new.html
Eisner, E., & Barone, T. (2012). Arts-based educational research. In J. L. Green, G. Camilli, & P. B. Elmore (Eds.), Handbook of complementary methods in education research (pp. 95–109). Routledge.
ErasmusIntern. (n.d.). Social media manager or photographer. https://erasmusintern.org/traineeship/social-media-manager-or-photographer
Erden Başaran, O., Kamışlı, M. U., Yıldız, H. S., Üçok, S. B., & Yeler, Z. (2023). Methodological discussions on the use of tricky topics technique for the focus group discussions. Yükseköğretim ve Bilim Dergisi, 13(2), 195–204.
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life of art. Teachers College Press.
Gallerani, M. (2017). Art pedagogy and gender education: The dialectic between images and consciousness, words and meanings. Proceedings, 1(9), 1092.
Gençalp, H. (2019). Görsel kültür, çoklu okuryazarlık ve çoklu biçimlilik bağlamında sosyal medya iletileri. Global Media Journal TR Edition, 10(19), 52–75.
Gezer, E. E. (2020). Görsel retoriğin reklamlarda kullanımı ve basılı reklam örnekleri. Ankara Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi Dergisi, 2(2), 150–172.
Goldfarb, B. (2002). Visual pedagogy: Media cultures in and beyond the classroom. Duke University Press.
Güler, E. (2020). Uluslararası Erasmus programında görsel kültür öğretimine ilişkin durum çalışması (UCC örneği). Uludağ Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 33(2), 522–557.
Güler, E. (2020). Visual culture-based workshop: Visual diaries. Bartın University Journal of Faculty of Education, 9(2), 388–406.
Hill, C. A., & Helmers, M. (Eds.). (2012). Defining visual rhetorics. Taylor & Francis.
Isabella, G., & Vieira, V. A. (2020). The effect of facial expression on emotional contagion and product evaluation in print advertising. RAUSP Management Journal, 55, 375–391.
Jay, M. (2005). Introduction to show and tell. Journal of Visual Culture, 4(2), 139–143.
Jokela, T., & Huhmarniemi, M. (2018). Art-based action research in the development work of arts and art education. In The lure of Lapland: A handbook of Arctic art and design.
Kasap, M. (2021). Sosyal medya yöneticiliği ve yönetiminin marka imajı üzerine etkisi; Marmara bölgesinde faaliyet gösteren işletmelerde bir araştırma. Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 31(1), 261–276.
Knochel, A. D. (2013). Assembling visuality: Social media, everyday imaging, and critical thinking in digital visual culture. Visual Arts Research, 39(2), 13–27.
Knowles, J. G., & Cole, A. L. (2008). Handbook of the arts in qualitative research. Sage Publications.
Konstan, D. (2007). Rhetoric and emotion. In I. Worthington (Ed.), A companion to Greek rhetoric (pp. 411–430). Wiley-Blackwell.
Leavy, P. (2009). Method meets art: Arts-based research practice. The Guilford Press.
McGregor, J. (1993). Effectiveness of role playing and antiracist teaching in reducing student prejudice. The Journal of Educational Research, 86(4), 215–226.
McNiff, S. (1998). Art-based research. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Mirzoeff, N. (1999). An introduction to visual culture (Vol. 274). London, England: Routledge.
Montalvo, R. E. (2011). Social media management. International Journal of Management & Information Systems, 15(3), 91–96.
Murray, D. C. (2015). Notes to self: The visual culture of selfies in the age of social media. Consumption Markets & Culture, 18(6), 490–516.
Özalp Hamata, K. (2022). Görsellerin Temsil Gücü. S. D. B. Erişti (Ed.), Görsel Pedagoji (ss. 48-70). Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
Schirato, T., & Webb, J. (2004). Visual art, visual culture. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Scott, L. M. (1994). Images in advertising: The need for a theory of visual rhetoric. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(2), 252–273.
Shavelson, R. J., Brophy, M., & Obemeata, J. O. (1985). Evaluation of nonformal education programs: The applicability and utility of the criterion-sampling approach (Vol. 11). Hamburg: Unesco Institute for Education.
Stokes, J., & Price, B. (2017). Social media, visual culture and contemporary identity. In 11th International Multi-conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics.
Şenyavaş, T. G. (2022). Görsel retorik. S. D. B. Erişti (Ed.), Görsel Pedagoji (ss. 71–109). Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
Türkcan, B., & Coşkun, N. (2024). Görsel kültür çalışmaları. In S. D. Bedir Erişti (Ed.), Görsel araştırma yöntemleri: Teori, uygulama ve örnek (10. baskı, ss. 73-108). Ankara, Turkey: Pegem Akademi.
Ulutaş, S., & Ulutaş, Ü. G. (2015). Sosyal medya ve görsel kültür ilişkisi ekseninde ‘My Shoes’ kısa filminin estetik çözümlemesi. İdil Dil ve Sanat Dergisi, 4(18), 55–80. https://doi.org/10.7816/idil-04-18-04
Ulusal Ajans. (n.d.). Erasmus programı. https://www.ua.gov.tr/programlar_/erasmus-programi/
Ustaoğlu, F. D., & Bayça, S. U. (2015). Kurum kimliği: Logo ve rengin çağrışımları. Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, (34), 27–40.
Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T. (2013). Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing & Health Sciences, 15(3), 398–405.
Williams, H. T., McMurray, J. R., Kurz, T., & Lambert, F. H. (2015). Network analysis reveals open forums and echo chambers in social media discussions of climate change. Global Environmental Change, 32, 126–138.
Yükseköğretim Kurulu. (n.d.). Erasmus programı. https://www.ab.gov.tr/erasmus-programi_53081.html
