Exploring Finnish fifth-grade pupils' academic peer assistance networks



: Niskala Eveliina, Sormunen Kati, Palonen Tuire, Korhonen Tiina, Hakkarainen Kai

Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

: 2023

: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

: SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

: SCAND J EDUC RES

: 18

: 0031-3831

: 1470-1170

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2023.2262505

: https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2023.2262505

: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/181439775


The study examined Finnish elementary school pupils' academic peer assistance and its relation to their demographic backgrounds of gender and language, social networking with schoolmates, and orientation toward sociodigital participation. The participants (188 fifth graders) responded to a social networking questionnaire on schoolmate and academic peer assistance networks and a questionnaire probing pupils' digital engagement. Our analysis indicated that pupils' schoolmate networks were denser than the academic peer assistance networks and less homophilic concerning pupils' language background than gender. There were no gender differences regarding academic peer assistance. We distinguished passive (n = 34), medium (n = 124), and active (n = 30) helpers, with no gender or language influence, other than homophily. The active helpers often participated in online social networking and were better connected with their peers than the passive helpers. We argue that spontaneously emerging academic peer assistance should be deliberately fostered by pedagogic support from teachers.

Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 10:42