Student-to-student knowledge sharing practices in universities

In this paper, we draw on the interdisciplinary literature on higher education, knowledge management and organisational behaviour to review some of the key approaches for student-to-student sharing of knowledge in modern universities. In the current higher education landscape, fostering knowledge sharing between students is vital for the development of graduate attributes and employability and is instrumental for improving students’ engagement with the academic and social aspects of university life. We present a framework for the classification of arrangements for student-to-student sharing of knowledge as a spectrum that ranges between formal and informal approaches. Group assessments and activities that formally incorporate knowledge sharing into the curriculum, peer learning activities that are located towards the middle of the proposed spectrum and a number of informal arrangements instigated by students for exchanging knowledge are explored at length. The benefits and challenges associated with these different arrangements and the obstacles to knowledge sharing that students may face are noted and some recommendations for harnessing knowledge sharing practices to improve students’ success and satisfaction are offered