Instagram Media Exposure and Parents' School Choice Decisions: Evidence from an Islamic Primary School
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54099/aijbs.v6i1.1818Keywords:
Decision-Making, Instagram, Islamic Primary School, School ChoiceAbstract
This paper examines the effect of Instagram exposure on parents' school-choice decisions in the context of an Islamic primary school. Purpose – This study seeks to analyze whether exposure to a school's Instagram account significantly influences how parents assess, compare, and ultimately choose a school for their children. Methodology – A quantitative explanatory design was employed to test the relationship between Instagram media exposure (independent variable) and parents' school choice decisions. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale from 106 respondents, consisting of parents or guardians who had accessed the school's Instagram account and were involved in selecting a school for their children. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, validity and reliability tests, classical assumption tests, and simple linear regression.
Findings – Instagram exposure has a positive, statistically significant effect on parents' school choice decisions. The regression equation was Y = 15.829 + 0.710X, with a t-value of 9.941, a significance level of 0.000, and an R-square of 0.492, showing that Instagram exposure contributes meaningfully to parental decision-making.
Value – This study highlights Instagram as an important element in the communication ecology of contemporary Islamic primary education, functioning not only as a promotional medium but also as a source of information, visibility, and institutional representation.
References
Al Khalili, T. (2025). Parental strategies and educational inequalities during severe economic, political, and refugee crises in conflict-affected Lebanon. Asia Pacific Education Review, 26, 553–566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-025-10040-7
Apps, T., Beckman, K., Pawlicka, N., & Kidson, P. (2025). The nature of connection: Parents’ experiences with school social media. Learning, Media and Technology, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2025.2541714
Bertotti, V., & Wilkins, A. W. (2026). The neurotic parent: Affect, risk and school choice. Journal of Education Policy, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2026.2655795
Bessant, C. (2024). School social media use and its impact upon children's rights to privacy and autonomy. Computers and Education Open, 6, 100185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2024.100185
Bosáková, V. (2025). Comparative study of parental strategies in urban and non-urban contexts when choosing a primary school. Journal of School Choice, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2025.2606905
Eldeeb, N., Ren, C., & Shapiro, V. B. (2025). Parent information seeking and sharing: Using unsupervised machine learning to identify common parenting issues. Children and Youth Services Review, 172, 108210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108210
Grenier, V., & Magnan, M. O. (2025). Exploring information gathering work undertaken by immigrant parents to choose a high school in Montreal. Journal of School Choice, 19(2), 324–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2024.2386612
Gurung, M. I., Agarwal, N., Bhuiyan, M. M. I., & Poudel, D. (2025). Symbolic signals on Instagram: How visual media shapes engagement, emotion, trust, and diffusion. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 15, 57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-025-01469-0
Hands, C., Kurucz, E., Spencer-Mueller, E. K., Gudz, N., & Archer, K. (2025). Beyond school newsletters and memos: Family engagement in planning, developing, and delivering an innovative STEM program. Education Sciences, 15(6), 665. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060665
Juhaidi, A. (2024). Social media marketing of Islamic higher education institution in Indonesia: A marketing mix perspective. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2374864
Jun, J., Meissel, K., Cooper, M., & Rudd, G. (2025). A systematic review: Parental perspective on school readiness during the pre- and post-transition periods. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 9, 100486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2025.100486
La Touche, R., Reina-Varona, Á., Grande-Alonso, M., León-Hernández, J. V., Pardo-Montero, J., Requejo-Salinas, N., Ferrer-Peña, R., & Paris-Alemany, A. (2025). Student satisfaction in social media-based learning environments: Development, validation, and psychometric evaluation of the CuSAERS (Questionnaire of Satisfaction With Educational Activities Performed on Social Media). JMIR Medical Education, 11, e73805. https://doi.org/10.2196/73805
Li, S., Quan, Y., Xiao, L., Ren, H., & Abinova, A. Y. (2025). Exploring the influence of social media communication and brand image on international student enrollment intentions in higher education. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1618524. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1618524
Libai, B., Rosario, A. B., Beichert, M., Donkers, B., Haenlein, M., Hofstetter, R., Kannan, P. K., van der Lans, R., Lanz, A., Li, H. A., Mayzlin, D., Muller, E., Shapira, D., Yang, J., & Zhang, L. (2025). Influencer marketing unlocked: Understanding the value chains driving the creator economy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 53, 4–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-024-01073-2
Macías Urrego, J. A., García Pineda, V., & Montoya Restrepo, L. A. (2024). The power of social media in the decision-making of current and future professionals: A crucial analysis in the digital era. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2421411
Markovich Morris, E., & Cheng, Y.-L. (2025). Parents as allies: Innovative strategies for (re)imagining family, school, and community partnerships. Education Sciences, 15(5), 533. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050533
Mertens, E., Ye, G., Beuckels, E., & Hudders, L. (2024). Parenting information on social media: Systematic literature review. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 7, e55372. https://doi.org/10.2196/55372
Ogawa, K., Alam, M. J., Noman, S., & Parvin, M. (2025). Parental perception on school choice for quality early childhood education in Bangladesh: A socio-economic analysis. Cogent Education, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2543137
Onishi, R. (2024). Parental information-use strategies in a digital parenting environment and their associations with parental social support and self-efficacy: Cross-sectional study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 7, e58757. https://doi.org/10.2196/58757
Pan, M., Blut, M., Ghiassaleh, A., & Lee, Z. W. Y. (2025). Influencer marketing effectiveness: A meta-analytic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 53, 52–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-024-01052-7
Poirier, S.-M., Cosby, S., Sénécal, S., Coursaris, C. K., Fredette, M., & Léger, P.-M. (2024). The impact of social presence cues in social media product photos on consumers’ purchase intentions. Journal of Business Research, 185, 114932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114932
Pusztai, G., Róbert, P., & Fényes, H. (2023). Parental involvement and school choice in Hungarian primary schools. Journal of School Choice, 17(1), 118–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2023.2169812
Saltmarsh, J. E. (2025). A case of interpretive assistance and school choice counseling. Education Inquiry, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2025.2544448
Saternus, Z., Mihale-Wilson, C., & Hinz, O. (2024). Influencer marketing on Instagram—The optimal disclosure strategy from influencers’ and marketers’ perspectives. Electronic Markets, 34, 60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-024-00743-x
Satherley, D., & Norwich, B. (2022). Parents' experiences of choosing a special school for their children. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 37(6), 950–964. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2021.1967298
Sjögren, H., & Cakici, B. (2025). Configuring parents as citizens and consumers: Local variations in informational material about school allocation and choice in Sweden. Education Inquiry, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2025.2463206
Sokolowski, D. A., Perry, L. B., Saunders, R., & Barbour, M. K. (2026). Parent choice in K–12 online schooling: Australian and U.S. perspectives. Journal of School Choice, 20(1), 156–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2025.2464502
Yu, B., Zhang, D., Sun, Y., et al. (2025). Exploring the impact of social influence on parents' intention to use institutional childcare: A cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research, 25, 198. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12362-z
Zhou, J., & Suntrayuth, S. (2025). Social media facilitated learning and parents’ purchase intentions of non-academic tutoring services for children. Acta Psychologica, 255, 104886. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104886
Zwier, D. (2025). Be true to your school: School profiling and school sorting by socio-economic status. Social Science Research, 132, 103239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2025.103239
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dewi Septiani, Rani Ade Saputri, Veranus Sidharta

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

