Evolution of Civil Engineering Students’ Friendship and Learning Networks
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 144, Issue 4
Abstract
The evolution of college students’ friendship and learning networks may help educators to identify dysfunctional individual students so that student consulting and teaching can be improved. However, very few studies have integrated social network analysis and psychological tests to explore the characteristics of friendship and learning habits of college engineering major students. Network analysis with social psychology interpretation attempts to unveil the relationship between social networks and personality and to identify the subjective and objective mechanisms of assembling student friendship and learning networks. This study interviewed and surveyed civil engineering college students for four consecutive years to establish their friendship and learning networks. Social network analysis techniques and social psychological testing used these data to explore the mechanisms of network evolution and the reflections of student psychological conditions on the network characteristics. Three driving forces, social proximity, student characteristics, and curricula, are found to shape the structures and evolution of the friendship and learning networks. Because the density and evolution of college friendship and learning networks are dictated by curricula and peer pressure, through course arrangement and dormitory assignment, universities may be able to mold student social networks into positive configurations to increase social and learning interactions.
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Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan under grant number MOST 105-2420-H-507-002-MY3. The author thanks all the students who participated in the survey and questionnaires. The author also thanks the two anonymous reviewers for their great suggestions and comments.
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Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 144 • Issue 4 • October 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 27, 2017
Accepted: May 11, 2018
Published online: Aug 13, 2018
Published in print: Oct 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jan 13, 2019
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