Abstract:

Sociometry can be an excellent tool for teachers to gain a deeper understanding of the system of relationships between members of a class community, the closeness and nature of relationships between students. This can be a good starting point for identifying how to build a class community. However, building a class community has become quite difficult for teachers around the world since 2020, as many schools around the world have been closed for months due to the ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Teaching online is not an easy task either, how could it be easy to build a class community through a computer? The aim of this study is to compare the pre-coronavirus and during the pandemic relationship systems in two selected high school classes through a sociometric survey and, with this in mind, to make suggestions for building a class community. Our primary research was conducted in the spring of 2021 with the involvement of two high school classes. One was made up of boys only, the other of a mix of boys and girls. Using sociograms and various sociometric indicators, we can therefore compare not only the relationship systems existing before and during COVID-19, but also the nature of the relationship system in a class consisting only of boys and a mixed class of boys and girls. The results of the study can be used by class teachers, high school teachers and school psychologists alike.

Keywords:

Building class community, class community, COVID-19, sociometry.