Conference:
ECER 2009
Format:
Symposium
Session Information
14 SES 03, Harnessing Social Capital to Meet the Needs of Children & Young People in Challenging Urban Contexts
Symposium
Time:
2009-09-28
14:00-15:30
Room:
JUR, HS 10
Chair:
Kathryn Riley
Discussant:
Lejf Moos
Contribution
The purpose of this symposium is to explore the theoretical and practical implications of taking a social capital perspective in relation to three differing contexts in Europe: England, France and Portugal.
The concept of social capital has only recently been introduced into discussions about schools. As a concept, it enriches understanding of the potential of school-community relationships. While the democratic ideal focuses on decision-making and formal participation, a social capital perspective emphasizes the more fluid contribution of community social networks and relationships to the functioning of the school.
Interest in social capital is increasing in part because of the global shifts in population that are bringing rapid increases in immigrants to areas that were previously homogeneous. Under these circumstances, looking for the positive features of the newcomers' cultures strikes many educators as preferable to a deficit model that emphasizes what newcomers lack (Brunn & Delaney-Barmann, 2001). Underpinning the positive assumption of 'social capital' is the notion that social networks and relationships contribute to the functioning of schools (Hill 2001; Morris, 2002).
The importance of social capital—whether or not it is identified by the label—is supported by studies that examine successful schools with large minority or poor populations. Studies find that social cohesiveness outside the school supports shared learning objectives (Elliot et al., 2002; Morris & Morris, 2002), as well as helping to stabilize the political environment that creates significant challenges for urban schools (Hill, 2001).
The specific questions which contributors to the symposium will explore are:
•How is the notion of social capital conceptualized?
•To what extent does this notion connect to linguistic capital?
•If communities have untapped resources, is it the role of schools to build social capital ?
Method
As in the different papers
Expected Outcomes
In the context of population movements, particularly refugee and migrant communities, a central purpose of this symposium is to build connections with researchers across Europe, and to increase understanding about the educational implications of social capital.
The symposium will contribute to the knowledge base on social capital (in terms of theory, research methodology, policy and practice) and make a tangible contribution to EERA’s Conference goals.
References
Bourdieu,P. (1986) Forms of capital. In J. Richardson, ed. Handbook of Theory and research for sociology of education. New York: Greenwood 241-258. Coleman, J. (1998) Social Capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, p. 95-120. Pont, B., Nusche, D. and Moorma, H. (2008). Improving School Leadership. Volume 1: Policy and Practice. Paris: OECD.
Search the ECER Programme
- Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
- Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
- Search for authors and in the respective field.
- For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
- If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.