Social Capital and Education
In an entry by Jonathan Madison on the Daily Journal titled, “Social Capital in Education Reform,” the disparity in education among school age children across the country is discussed critically as Madison pinpoints “a lack of social capital” as the prime causative agent. Madison mentions a book written by Robert D. Putnam titled, “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis,” where Putnam attributes “scrupulous values” as a key factor for success. Putnam argues further that these values are cultivated early in our lives and blames “single-parent households, a lack of community engagement, less involvement in sports and extracurricular activities and low church attendance” as some of the reasons why there is such a lack of social capital in later generations and therefore high disparities among school age children.
Source: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/networks-book/networks-book-ch03.pdf
Source: https://maya-group.me/blog/socialnaja-aktivnost
In David Easley and Jon Kleinberg’s “Networks, Crowds, and Markets,” social capital is defined as “the ability of actors to secure benefits by virtue of membership in social networks or other social structures.” Relating to the readings and discussions held in class we know that social capital or a lack thereof, has severe impacts in determining a person’s position within a social network. Being equipped with the right tools, implements avenues for gathering resources that can be mobilized to accomplish different tasks i.e excel academically. These fundamental skills serve as reinforcements of social norms which, as James Coleman states “can help protect the integrity of social and economic transactions” (Networks, Crowds, and Markets.) It is this sense of security that encourages academic productivity and more importantly, determines the position of an individual within our social networks.