Module 1: People

Module 1: People

Having the right people in the right place at the right time is critical to creating a healthy school. As school leaders, how do you know who the right people are? And how do you strengthen relationships and the flow of information so that your efforts to make your school healthy are sustained? A method called Social Network Analysis can help answer these questions.

People matter

If schools are going to implement a healthy school model, they need to identify the people who have the ability to be its advocates and take action.

This module shows helps you use Social Network Analysis (SNA), a well-established social science technique, to uncover key individuals and relationships in your school or district who can help promote and implement a healthy school.

Social networks for education

Social networks are defined by the relationships among people within an organization. These relationships can be described by organizational charts: Teachers report to principals who in turn report to superintendents, for example.

Other aspects of the relationships among individuals in a social network are also important. For example, individuals vary greatly in how many relationships they have within their network and how frequently they are in contact with others. Some are trusted sources of information, others are not. Some are influential in their opinions, others less so.

Social Network Analysis enables organizations – schools and districts included – to make a thorough appraisal of these kinds of factors so that they can have the best chance of taking coordinated action.