Social relations and academic achievement of students in the context of university reform

Authors

  • Lidia Daza Pérez Universitat de Barcelona

Keywords:

sociology of education, sociodemographic profile, faculty relationships, peer relationships, academic performance.

Abstract

In connection with the Bologna process and the methodological changes introduced into Catalan universities that have brought about a greater classroom and campus attendance and participation of students, this paper emphasizes the role of social relationships at the university. The objective is to verify whether a greater interaction with faculty, tutors or other agents of the university context produces positive effects on student performance. A preliminary examination about these interactions allows a typology of students to be identified according to their social relationships at the reformed university. Next, the possible association between the type of relationships and the student’s performance is examined. The data were collected through a survey answered by 867 students from different Catalan universities. The results show that having more or less relationships does not depend on the student’s sociodemographic profile. However, the profile does explain the intensity of the relationships with peers. Regarding academic performance, having heterogeneous relationships is a positive element for students with less favourable learning conditions. However, taking recourse to other members of the community aside from peers to get information or obtaining support from more specialized sources is not very common and does not improve performance.

Keywords: sociology of education; sociodemographic profile; faculty relationships; peer relationships; academic performance.

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Author Biography

Lidia Daza Pérez, Universitat de Barcelona

Professora ajudant del Departament de Sociologia i Anàlisi de les Organitzacions. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Universitat de Barcelona

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Published

2015-12-21

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Section

Articles