Using Facebook as a co-learning community in higher education

Abstract

Students’ cultural capital plays a major role in their success in higher education. In Sweden today, many students come from diverse cultural, social and educational backgrounds. Knowledge of requirements in academic systems differs widely. Some students feel insecure about how to interpret academic codes, thus weakening these students’ opportunities for academic success. The major goal of this project was to lay the groundwork for a more equal educational system. Using social media, in this case conversations (e.g., chats) in a closed forum on Facebook monitored by a tutor, we aimed to improve student integration into academic culture. We differentiated two central themes related to student conversations on Facebook: (1) Access to academic habitus – cracking codes and (2) Emancipation by co-learning – extended academic codes. It was found that students participating in study groups created on Facebook learnt to better crack and extend the codes extant in university studies.

Keywords:

• higher education
• academic codes
• Facebook
• diverse backgrounds
• broaden recruitment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This project was supported by a research grant from Halmstad University.

Notes on contributor

Marta Cuesta is Associate Professor and Senior lecturer in Sociology, Halmstad University.

Monica Eklund is Ph.D. and Senior lecturer in Science of Education, Halmstad University.

Ingegerd Rydin, Professor in Media and Communications, Halmstad University.

Ann-Katrin Witt is Ph.D. and Senior lecturer in Sociology, Halmstad University.

ORCID

Monica Eklund http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8757-926X