Learning, friendship and social contexts: Introducing a social network analysis toolkit for socially responsive classrooms
International Journal of Educational Management
ISSN: 0951-354X
Article publication date: 20 August 2019
Issue publication date: 21 August 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a social network analysis (SNA) toolkit aiming to enable leaders, educators and researchers work together to deepen their understanding of classroom social network dynamics. In doing so, the authors provide both theoretical and practical steps in building a bridge between theory and practice and a step-by-step introduction to designing and implementing SNA to understand socially responsive classrooms. To make the case, the authors present data that were collected through an SNA survey completed by eighth graders in two highly diverse classrooms in Southern California.
Design/methodology/approach
Driven by an SNA perspective, the authors highlight the potential value of examining social interdependencies and interconnectedness among students in a classroom network. The SNA toolkit was employed to calculate social network measures and develop network maps for each classroom.
Findings
The toolkit has shown to provide a comprehensive platform in gaining important insights into students’ social relationships, particularly those who are underserved and at higher risk of exclusion. The findings have shown that some of the students in the two classrooms were more likely to remain on the periphery of their social networks, particularly those who are traditionally more likely to be marginalized including students with disabilities as well as racially and linguistically diverse students.
Originality/value
The toolkit in the hands of leaders and teachers may provide a powerful tool for personalized professional development and act as a catalyst in bridging the gap between research and practice.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Since the time of writing this paper Irene Kaimi regrettably died.
This work was supported by the European Commission, European Research Council (H2020-MSCA-IF-2014, Grant Number: 660607). This paper forms part of a special section “School leadership reconsidered: new answers to classic questions”.
Citation
Mamas, C., Daly, A.J., Struyve, C., Kaimi, I. and Michail, G. (2019), "Learning, friendship and social contexts: Introducing a social network analysis toolkit for socially responsive classrooms", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 1255-1270. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-03-2018-0103
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited