A Framework for Measuring and Improving Social Inclusion with Network Science

Promoting social inclusion in childhood is a crucial step in creating a more equitable and inclusive society. Socially included students improve their self-esteem, self-confidence, academic outcomes, mental health, social relationships, openness to diverse cultures, sense of social responsibility and justice. This study describes our framework for measuring and improving the social inclusion of study participants using network science techniques. We describe each framework component starting from theory, such as definitions, measures and improving procedure and ending with a practical application, such as measuring a school class and improving social inclusion in the most isolated subjects. We built a device prototype for data collection activities by recording social interactions in frequency and duration. After defining a case study and on-field data collection, we shape the network analysed to identify the most interesting students and network structure properties. In the case study, we identify the students who are most isolated, most popular, and most frequently bridges for students’ interactions. Considering how much the network is heterophile or homophile by interaction degree, we connect the most isolated with the most popular student through a bridge student, thus increasing the social inclusion of the least included student.