Configurations, dynamics, and temporality: Exploring the social networks of students and their relevance for successful transitions into higher education

Abstract

This study examines social networks' role in high-achieving students' transitions from upper secondary school to higher education. A specific focus is on the configuration of their social network, its' stability over time, and how the students experience the nature of the relationships in the network. The case study is based on three student cases selected from a pool of 52 students, and the data includes three waves of interviews with students over two years, interviews with a significant other to the students, and a subjective mapping of their social network. Analytical tools are the concepts of cultural and social capital and weak and strong ties. The study shows how social and cultural capital works within a social network, experienced from the students’ perspectives. In addition, we conclude that the transition process is fragile for students with low cultural capital regarding network configurations, significantly when changing fields of interest from upper secondary to tertiary education. Here, the importance of having weak ties is illustrated in terms of the need for field-specific influx for a bridging support role in the transition. The active involvement and reciprocal nature of the relationships are vital, and the strength of the network depends on whether it pertains over time. The results have implications for practice due to the emerging interrupted transitions to higher education and how to support students in their apparent situations, which are characterised as being in a state of limbo with no clear resolution.