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within the school community, resulting in positive gains in
student achievement. It was evident, even a century ago,
that fostering social capital in an effort to enhance school-
community partnerships would improve both the schools
and communities. Educators were building social capital and
utilizing it to advance the welfare of the communities in which
their schools existed. Hanifan (1916) concluded that before
productive work can be done there must be a collecting of
social capital.
Robert Putnam referenced social
capital throughout his bestselling
book Bowling Alone: The
Collapse and Revival of American
Community. In it, he analyzed
the evolving social climate in the
United States, particularly from
1950–2000. Putnam (2000) defined
social capital as the “connections
among individuals—social networks
and the norms of reciprocity and
trustworthiness that arise from
them” (p. 19). He highlighted the
fact that Americans were less
inclined to actively participate in the
political process, local community
affairs, or workplace activities, all
of which would include schools to some extent. Individuals’
involvement in groups and organizations became more
nominal in the form of writing a check as opposed to being
active such as attending a meeting. Neighbors socialized and
cared less for one another than they did a century earlier,
and families spent less time together. Among several factors,
Putnam (2000) attributed this decline in social capital to
changes in work, family life, and the influence of mass media
(i.e. television and computers—social media had yet to
be invented).
Putnam (2000) pointed out that the Parent-Teacher
Association (PTA) was among the most common community
organizations in the United States in the middle part of
the 20th century. Its membership even doubled between
1945 and 1960, largely due to the population growth of
Baby Boomers. However, PTA lost an average of 250,000
families per year between 1960
and 1985 and another 500,000
between 1990 and 1997. The
rise of similar independent
school organizations, the cost
of dues, and the controversy of
school politics all contributed to
this decline, however Putnam
acknowledged, “…that many
Americans nowadays are less
involved with their kids’ education”
(p. 57). Although this notion seems
counter to what is often perceived,
parental engagement for academic
purposes is often a secondary
concern at best. Families may
be willing to sell fundraiser items
at work or attend a Friday night
athletic event, making the extra-curricular activities the
primary venue for developing social capital in schools.
In his recent bestseller, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family
and Culture in Crisis, J.D. Vance (2016) describes his story
of growing up in rural poverty and the plethora of adverse
childhood experiences he was able to overcome. He wrote,
“Social capital isn’t manifest only in someone connecting
you to a friend or passing a resume on to an old boss, it
It was evident, even
a century ago, that
fostering social capital
in an effort to enhance
school-community
partnerships would
improve both the schools
and communities.
social relations and networks
resources
goodwill, fellowship, mutual sympathy within a social unit
connections among individuals
a measure of how much we learn through our friends, colleagues, and mentors
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