A student's attitude is very important in respect to the learning process since the results of said process largely depend on said attitude (Chapman & Van Auken, 2001). In social media-based collaborative learning (SMBCL), student attitudes refer to both collaborative learning and the use of social media for said learning.

Collaborative learning (CL) is a learning process in which students work together, fostering learning through interpersonal interactions, active learning, knowledge building, and team cooperation (Liao, Huang, Chen, & Huang, 2015). A collaborative learning attitude is defined as “an inward feeling expressed by outward behavior on this strategy, which involves students in established, sustained learning groups or teams”(Korkmaz, 2012, p. 1163). Attitude is one of the main factors to take into account in order to achieve success through CL (Lancellotti & Boyd, 2008; Sturner, Bishop, & Lenhart, 2017). In general, student attitudes towards CL are usually positive (Gardner & Korth, 1998; Ku, Tseng, & Akarasriworn, 2013; Prince, 2004; Zhan, Fong, Mei, & Liang, 2015), although this depends on many factors. For example, Gardner and Korth (1998) point out that past negative experiences with the distribution of the workload among group members or not perceiving enough benefits of the group's work can have a negative effect on attitude. Chapman and Van Auken (2001) highlight the role of the instructor especially in-group management issues as well as in individual evaluation within the group. Pfaff and Huddleston (2003) show that project grades, perceived workload, time in class dedicated to project work, the use of peer evaluations, and the absence of a “free-rider” problem are significant predictors of attitudes towards CL.