Relational analysis in teachers for the planning of socioeducational practices in medical education

Abstract

Introduction: Social Network Analysis allows a critical view about relationships and links. This methodology is presented as a useful tool to reach consensus, to design strategies and to intervene in situations, in order to understand the dynamics of groups. Studying the relationships between educational and community actors facilitates the construction of specific linkage efforts, bringing together elements for situational diagnosis in relation to social problems comprehensively addressed within the framework of Socio-educational Practices in university teaching.

Objective: This project seeks to use social network analysis to measure the relative centrality of nodes in the network, detect groups, and examine the diffusion of information or influence within the actors linked to the Public Health Educational Axis in the medical educational scheme at the National University of Central Buenos Aires (UNICEN).

Method: Data collection was carried out using a form sent to the members of the network. The data was analyzed by Social Network Analysis with the Ucinet and Netdraw software that allowed the analysis of the metrics and the creation of the sociogram.

Results: The identification of leaders and facilitators within the network who do not necessarily correspond to higher academic positions was achieved.

Conclusions: The execution of this project provides valuable information for strategic planning, using key methodological tools that provide feedback to the decision-making process, thus contributing to improving management and the activities of students in the field (outdoors activities).