Cohort-Based Education and Other Factors Related to Student Peer Relationships: A Mixed Methods Social Network Analysis

Abstract

Graduate students face a variety of stressors that relate to poor academic performance, lower completion rates, and high rates of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress. Student peers provide supports for coping with these stressors and succeeding academically. However, graduate students may find it difficult to form relationships with their peers. This mixed method social network analysis (MMSNA) examines graduate student perceptions of their peer relationships and the factors associated with peer friendships in a program that placed students in cohorts for the first semester of a two-year Master of Social Work program. Findings from three student focus groups include four main themes related to the cohort system and the tendency for students to gravitate to others who were similar to them (i.e., homophily). Focus group findings informed model specification for a curved exponential family model of student friendships at the end of the third semester of the program (N = 70) that identified correlates of student friendships including statistically significant direct and homophily effects for age, gender, and race/ethnicity. First-semester relationships and shared classes in subsequent semesters also increased the likelihood of friendships in the third semester. Findings emphasize the value of cohorts and a diverse student body for peer relationships.

Tripartite Analysis of Empowering Indicators to Student Engagement: Informing A Conceptual Framework

“…It is more possible to succeed for students who are fully integrated into social relationships in college (Tinto et al, 1993). Mauldin (2022) pointed out that social integration should be examined in respect of individual attributes and cohort-based learning. The influences of peer groups on student engagement rely on teacher involvement (Vollet et al, 2017) and thereby contributions to student engagement require an understanding of the joint effects of high teacher involvement and peer relationships.…”

Leveraging Systems Thinking, Engagement, and Digital Competencies to Enhance First-Year Architecture Students’ Achievement in Design-Based Learning

“…In smaller cohorts, there is a limited set of student data (attendance, interactions, use and diversity of learning material, sources and concepts generated, number and types of feedback), but, nevertheless, these limited attributes successfully predict students' interim and final marks, as argued by Wakelam et al [12]. During the study, students faced different stressors which might affect poor academic performance and lower completion rates, which is more evident in smaller cohorts and among first-year students where the number of peer interactions is smaller and value sharing is reduced [13]. Moreover, a larger diversity across students' age, gender, and even culture may provide an environment in which students from underprivileged communities (physical or virtual) may experience robust social engagement in learning [13].…”

“…During the study, students faced different stressors which might affect poor academic performance and lower completion rates, which is more evident in smaller cohorts and among first-year students where the number of peer interactions is smaller and value sharing is reduced [13]. Moreover, a larger diversity across students' age, gender, and even culture may provide an environment in which students from underprivileged communities (physical or virtual) may experience robust social engagement in learning [13]. Mauldin et al [13] also found that students in small cohorts are more frequently physically isolated from their peers than their counterparts in larger cohorts (in terms of lab work and time spent out of campus).…”

Daily Peer Relationships and Academic Achievement among College Students: A Social Network Analysis Based on Behavioral Big Data

“…Homogeneity, i.e., having characteristics that are similar in some way, can explain the formation of peer relationships, and college students tend to form friendships with classmates of the same age, gender, and race [32]. For example, female students are more likely to form peer relationships based on gender and age similarity, and both genders equally tend to form relationships based on informedness similarity regarding the content and study conditions of their study program [33].…”