Abstract:

Academics have traditionally emphasized the relevance of relational factors in academic performance at the university level. The rationale underneath these research is that through interactions with other fellows inside or outside the classroom, students may acquire valuable advice and assistance in academic issues. Therefore, certain impact of such friendship networks on student's academic performance can be expected. However, insights from social capital approach rise concerns about the existence of an unequivocal positive effect. By exploring the intensity and structure of this network, this paper throws light on this open debate. Using social network analysis and sample of students at the Universidad Miguel Hernández, our exploratory analysis shows that the way students integrate socially into the academic network determines their performance. However, the effects of the embeddedness in networks changes if friendship or academic assistance purposes prevail. Valuable implications derive not only for academic researchers, but particularly for universities as programs and activities devoted to foster suitable relational aspects may foster the performance.

Keywords:

Networks, Social Capital, Interaction, Performance, Social Network Analysis.