Methods for the evaluation of social learning (2017-2021): systematic literature review

Abstract

University of Salamanca, Research Institute for Educational Sciences, Spain, mjrconde@usal.es Providing learning opportunities, based on social interaction and shared knowledge in the pursuit of a common goal, is a transcendental aspect in the field of training. In this sense, in contemporary education, the analysis of social learning becomes relevant and, consequently, it is necessary to identify a strategy to show how its evaluation is being carried out. Hence, the purpose of this article was to identify the organizational methods that have been used for the evaluation of social learning. For this purpose, a systematic review was conducted based on sixty studies, located between 2017 and 2021, by searching the Scopus and WoS databases with the keywords: methods, evaluation and social learning. Three major themes were defined to establish seven research questions that guided the search for information: characteristics of the studies, methodological design and findings. The results show that the greatest scientific production on the subject is found in the United States; in addition, participatory methods and peer support are essential to strengthen social interaction; furthermore, greater innovation is identified, in terms of new knowledge and areas of opportunity are detected for research on methods involving new processes and new services for the evaluation of social learning; there is greater evidence of this evaluation in the educational context related to higher education and in the social context directed towards professional training; with respect to the organizational methods of evaluation, these are focused on shared experiences through networks, co-creation and shared research; finally, opportunities for future research are evident in the analysis of methods involving social capital and peer education.