Abstract
The aim of this study is to explore whether and how school-based social capital (SSC) may increase or reduce inequalities in the academic achievement and well-being of students from different backgrounds (class, gender, and ethnicity). SSC here refers to those qualities of social relationships and the degree of interconnectedness between students, teachers, and parents that can support the educational attainment and social adjustment of young people. As the results of our ethnographic studies indicate, there is a significant association between SSC and school composition—i.e., the class and ethnic background of students in a school. The association indicates the stratification effect of social capital in schools as a predominant pattern. In a school with students from higher socio-economic backgrounds, we observed more qualified and motivated teachers, an intensive parental involvement, and, consequently, more constructive and friendly relationships among students. In contrast, in a school located in a disadvantaged area, the social relations were quite the reverse. We then found a third category. In a school with children from lower social class backgrounds placed in an immigrant-dense area, highly committed school staff were able to create an emotional closeness and trust between them, the pupils, and their parents. School-based social capital in this context introduced a sense of solidarity and created a pro-educational climate.
Highlights
As a public institution, schools are more accessible than family . . . as an appropriate unit of intervention (Garbarino 1992, p. 121).As the sociology of education demonstrates, a profound understanding of the differences in the educational attainment of pupils is not to be found exclusively at the ‘micro level’in factors like family resources and the pupils’ individual characteristics
School children need the various resources provided by their social relationships with their proactive parents, committed school personnel, and pro-academic peers
As our fieldwork data demonstrated, school-based social capital (SSC) in the South and North Schools operated in line with the production and reproduction of social inequalities
Summary
Schools are more accessible than family . . . as an appropriate unit of intervention (Garbarino 1992, p. 121). Stanton-Salazar (2001) underlines the stratified character of SSC as the predominant pattern and writes that, in school settings, teachers tend to possess the cultural capital that characterizes the middle classes They have a strong feeling of affinity and more responsive and tighter relations with middle-class white pupils and their parents, favoring them (compared with those from working-class minority groups). Stanton-Salazar (2011) simultaneously draws our attention to the possible counter-stratification effect of social capital This happens when young people from disadvantaged groups have been able to gain access to resources beyond their immediate (ego) social networks through institutional mediation (teachers and other adults in school), institutional resources (e.g., funded programs), or the leaders of extra-curricular activities outside the school (Behtoui 2019). Summarizing the qualitative research in this field, Dhillon (2015) writes: The main methods used to gather qualitative data [in this field] are observations, interviews, and focus groups, though other methods, such as documentary analysis, diaries, journals, and logs are common
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