From Earthquake Solidarity to Educational Equity: Conceptualizing a Sustainable, Volunteer-Driven P2P Learning Ecosystem at Scale
A grassroots tutoring program for 300+ students reveals key design principles for scalable, volunteer-driven education.
Researchers Öykü Kaplan, Adam Przybyłek, and Michael Neumann analyzed a volunteer-driven, peer-to-peer (P2P) tutoring ecosystem that began after the 2023 Türkiye earthquake. The program ran for over two years, supporting 300+ learners with 40+ tutors. Their study identified that intrinsic motivation and a 'family-like' safe space drove success, while optional micro-earning could aid sustainability. They synthesized findings into five design principles for building scalable, resilient online learning communities.
Why It Matters
It provides a proven model for using technology to create self-sustaining, equitable educational support networks globally.