Patterns of discursive interactions in primary classrooms: an application of social network analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether social network analysis (SNA) is a useful method for identifying different discursive patterns in everyday classroom activities. The material analysed came from 20 teacher-led lessons that were video-recorded in small-size classes in Italian public primary schools. SNA was used to measure classroom relations in terms of ties (in and out connections among individuals) and dialogues (duration of messages sent and received). The results highlighted two discursive patterns, which we called dominant and distributed. The dominant pattern was observed in lessons in which teachers limited pupils’ participation and governed discourse in a dyadic way. The distributed pattern of discourse offered children more opportunities to participate in the dialogues, to be connected with others and to engage in multiple interactions. Moreover, it exhibited adaptability with respect to children’s different attainment levels, within the constraint of the lesson’s subject. In conclusion, SNA enabled rigorous and original investigation of interactive processes in real classroom situations.

Keywords:

• classroom interaction
• classroom discourse
• social network analysis
• teaching and learning processes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. During two lessons, some pupils showed evident signs of embarrassment. In these cases, we decided to use only the camera positioned behind the children, which was less intrusive.