Academic Success at Social Costs: An Exploratory Study on Social Networks of Chinese Students under Academic Streaming

Autor: Jinjing Fang, Gavin T. L. Brown
Jazyk: English<br />Spanish; Castilian
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 164-180 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 14010011
2254-9625
2174-8144
DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe14010011
Popis: In universities that require students to reside in dormitories, there are two types of social networks—study/classroom-based and social/dorm room-based. The academic streaming system may disrupt study/classroom connections, but its impact on students’ social networks is unknown. Using self-reported surveys, this study examines ego network measures of network sizes, turnover, multiplexity, and diversity among 382 students (44% female, 56% male). Surveys were administered before and after the university employed a first-semester grade-point average to demote or promote students into an honours college. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 11 honours students staying within their track and 11 students who were re-streamed to the non-honours track. Quantitative results showed that students in the non-honours college and who remained there had increasingly overlapping friendship circles between study and social environments, along with more diverse social connections, indicating stronger networks. In contrast, honours participants experienced fewer overlapping networks across domains and less dispersed social ties, especially after the academic replacement process. Qualitative results showed that the honours students faced a trade-off between academic success and social engagement in maintaining their elite status. Re-streamed students experienced otherness in social groups and decreased psychological wellbeing. This study contributes to the application of network analysis in education and provides insights into the unintended consequences of educational practice on students’ social networks.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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