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Discovering the influence of student’s social network on academic performance and peer influence patterns in a period of social distancing
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Resumo(s)
Students’ academic achievement has been linked to a variety of personal and socioeconomic characteristics. The truth is, there is one field of study that has been showing promising results in terms of its effect on academic performance, which is the social relations. Social networks that are built within the students’ community can have a significant influence on students’ academic performance. Not only does a student’s position in a network might have an impact on academic success, but so does the influence that peers exert on one another. This dissertation aims to offer a more in-depth examination of these subjects, along with an analysis of the impact of the emergence of the pandemic (COVID-19) on the development of social ties. Bachelor’s degree students from a Portuguese university were asked about their grades, friends, study buddies and working group colleagues in order to explore multiple forms of social interactions and give a more robust analysis. The study was based on an online questionnaire aimed only at the desired target and data was analyzed using UCINET and SPSS. From the variety of centrality measures considered, findings suggest that students in high prestige positions within the friendship network present lower academic achievement, except for eigenvector (i.e., being connected to students who are themselves well connected). On advice and working group networks, there was minimal evidence of the relation between key positions and grades, however, when significant, the impact was either positive or negative depending on the centrality measure considered. Aside from social relations, the research also indicates that prior academic performance and being provided with a scholarship are the most dominant factors in the explanation of academic performance. Although there was not overall homophily towards grades – neither through selection nor influence mechanisms –, students with lower academic achievement tended to stablish friendship ties between themselves and to be influenced by them over time. No clear evidence was found regarding the emergence of the pandemic and its impact on the formation of personal ties since pre and post pandemic classes present very similar results, and both seem to have been significantly affected by the pandemic. These findings put in evidence the importance of studying personal relations in the educational realm and contribute to discussions on the spreading of knowledge in social networks.
Descrição
Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence
Palavras-chave
Social Network Analysis Students Performance Selection effect Peer influence/socialization process Centrality measures Density Knowledge Sharing Performance Analysis