Social networks within classroom ecologies: peer effects on students’ engagement in the context of relationships with teachers and parents

Abstract

If researchers wish to understand how classroom ecologies influence children’s learning at school, they will need to combine investigations of the effects of peer group networks with analyses of teachers’ and parents’ influences. One promising target outcome for such studies would be children’s classroom engagement, because it is not only visible to peers and teachers at school, but is also apparent in children’s academic activities at home. To study peer influences on engagement, socio-cognitive mapping strategies appear to be well suited, because they capture groups of peers who frequently interact with one another. Building on findings from several such studies of peer group effects, we expand the framework by incorporating influences from teachers and parents. We include preliminary analyses suggesting that peer influences are especially strong for children who do not experience much involvement from teachers and parents. Finally, we suggest that it would be beneficial if teachers were trained to keep track of peer group processes in their classrooms.