ERIC Number: EJ1053935
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2332-3205
EISSN: N/A
How Schoolchildren Choose Their Friends, How Teachers Think about These Relationships and What Influence They Have
Dopplinger, Ursula
Universal Journal of Educational Research, v2 n6 p480-486 2014
This study explores the personal student attributes which influence a student being accepted by their peers and teachers, within a primary school context. The literature surrounding this construct outlines the important roles of peer groups in socialization. Being part of the relations to classmates, pupils classify each other automatically or even unknowingly into categories as a reaction of emotions and acceptance within the strict frame of reference existing in primary schools. Although human beings adopt their behavior to their perceptions, children in primary school classes have different kinds of references in school. However there is a gap in literature which leaves the implicit influence of teachers expectations unexplored. So this study aims to bridge this gap by exploring on the one hand adopted actions to the classmates' expectations and on the other hand the influence of the teachers' perceptions and observations on the students' behavior. To do this, the social network analysis (SNA) was used, as it is a valid method for exploring the social mechanism which takes place in a social system like it can be found in school classes. Therefore the study was conducted in a primary school in Austria. The results demonstrated that teachers influence unknowingly their pupils' opinion about their classmates' social network, which highlights the process of social learning.
Descriptors: Friendship, Peer Relationship, Expectation, Teacher Influence, Teacher Attitudes, Student Behavior, Social Networks, Network Analysis, Social Influences, Elementary School Students, Foreign Countries, Elementary School Teachers, Questionnaires, Student Characteristics, Cultural Influences, Human Body, Cognitive Ability, Student Attitudes, Stereotypes
Horizon Research Publishing. 506 North Garfield Avenue #210, Alhambra, CA 91801. e-mail: editor@hrpub.org; Web site: http://www.hrpub.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Austria
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A