From Earthquake Solidarity to Educational Equity: Conceptualizing a Sustainable, Volunteer-Driven P2P Learning Ecosystem at Scale

TL;DR

This paper explores how a volunteer-driven P2P learning ecosystem, originating from earthquake relief efforts, can be sustained long-term through socio-technical design, fostering educational and social benefits for learners and tutors.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive framework and five design principles for creating scalable, sustainable, volunteer-led P2P learning ecosystems based on empirical case study insights.

Findings

Trust is fostered by age proximity but challenges instructional authority.

Volunteer motivation is mainly intrinsic, with micro-earning as a sustainability enabler.

Learners gain confidence, self-expression, and comprehension through personalized, socio-emotional sessions.

Abstract

This study examines the evolution of a grassroots, volunteer-driven peer-to-peer (P2P) educational initiative from an emergency response to the 2023 T\"urkiye earthquake into a sustainable ecosystem that operated for over two years and supported 300+ middle-school learners with 40+ volunteer tutors. Employing an interpretive case study approach, we triangulated data from participant observation, focus groups, questionnaires, and collaborative visioning workshops to investigate the socio-technical dynamics enabling long-term resilience in a fully online, nonreciprocal far-peer tutoring setting. Our findings reveal that while age proximity fosters trust and open communication, it also poses challenges for tutors who must balance peer rapport with instructional authority. Volunteer engagement is driven primarily by intrinsic motives - educational impact and community belonging - while optional micro-earning is envisioned as a practical enabler for long-term sustainability. Tutees report significant gains in confidence, self-expression, and accelerated comprehension, attributing these outcomes to personalized, interactive sessions within a "family-like" safe space that combines academic instruction with socio-emotional support. Notably, tutees view tutors as aspirational role models and express strong intentions to return as tutors themselves, envisioning a self-regenerating cycle of intergenerational reciprocity that carries knowledge and solidarity from generation to generation. Both cohorts call for a dedicated platform featuring integrated scheduling, personalization, feedback, and quality assurance mechanisms. We synthesize these insights into theory-informed implications and five design principles for sustainable P2P learning ecosystems at scale.