Abstract
This article adds to a growing body of literature on how various types of social relations can work synergistically to promote students' academic success. Students’ study-related social networks affect academic outcome in higher education. The network literature in education generally explores students’ various relations separately, rather than their multiplex relations or when individuals share several relations. This approach risks missing the full complexity of the student experience. The aim of the present study is to add to the discussion on student social networks and attainment in higher education by further exploring multiplex relations maintained in a specific study program, in which a large share of students in the cohort commute. A survey was distributed to students in one cohort (n = 146). The findings revealed that, in this cohort, students’ friendship, working and learning networks overlap substantially, and that centrality in the friendship and in the student multiplex networks was positively and significantly related to academic outcome, whereas centrality in the working and learning networks was not. Points for future research are suggested, and practical implications for those supporting student learning in higher education are discussed.
Highlights
The classroom is a central place for the formation of supportive relations, and university students generally perform better in relationship-rich environments (Felten & Lambert, 2020)
The aim of the present study is to explore how students form working, learning and friendship relations and to what extent these overlap in multiplex relations as well as to look at how uniplex and multiplex relations relate to academic outcome
In contrast to previous research, the study was carried out at a teaching-intensive university where students follow the same program for 3 years and a large share of them commute, meaning that the context differs from that of previous Social network analysis (SNA) studies
Summary
The classroom is a central place for the formation of supportive relations, and university students generally perform better in relationship-rich environments (Felten & Lambert, 2020). Innovative Higher Education has made the importance of social relations even more apparent. Students report a decline in well-being as interaction between students has declined and co-studying networks have become sparser (Elmer et al, 2020). It seems as though the social control and peer pressure existing within student social networks motivate them to succeed (Eggens et al, 2007). The focus of the present study is on how the students themselves form relations in and around the classroom
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
