Last grade teacher training students social capital. An approach to their social networks within the University

Recent researches highlight the importance of social capital as a positive element for educational success. The mean of this study are the 321 students enrolled full time either in Teacher Training for Preschool Education Degree or Primary Education Degree (course 2014-15) and focus on their network of relationships among the University. The project takes place in the Practicum program and captures the quality of the relationships among the student cohort. The research explores the construction and characteristics of social networks of future teachers through a questionnaire on social networks where respondents had been provided a relational stem (collaboration, advice, new ideas, influence, need to vent and friendship), obtaining an 80% response. Results show that all the networks have a similar structure and behavior, with low density, where ask for advice network is the denser. Furthermore, networks are more vital when related to academic questions and less when related to emotional questions. Thus, the paper concludes that an increase of density in networks (emotional and academics) will be desirable so does to tend towards less centralized networks.