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is also, or perhaps primarily, a measure of how much we
learn through our friends, colleagues, and mentors. Social
capital is all around us. Those who tap into it and use it
prosper. Those who don’t are running life’s race with a
major handicap” (p. 221). In his corresponding TED Talk,
America’s Forgotten Working Class, Vance (2016) discussed
the challenges he faced in his young life due to a lack of
social capital, among other factors. He attributed his success
to good mentors who helped fill his social capital gap and
stressed that society needs to figure out how to provide a
level playing field for students of poverty.
So how can schools build social capital that will benefit
students?
In 21st century America, online social networks have become
an integral part of daily life and modified the way society
communicates and to what degree.
It is evident that new technologies
are permanently tied to how social
capital is acquired. Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat,
and LinkedIn are just a few of the
communication pipelines for broad
cross-sections of society. These
platforms create cyber communities
that allow networking opportunities
and connections that can increase
the potential of school districts to
create a brand. School leaders
who tout their programs through
social media and are recognized
as innovators increase their social
capital, thereby affording students
a level of social capital through
affiliation with the school.
School leaders should encourage educators to use social
media, such as Twitter, to connect with other educators,
families, and communities. These connections are now a
primary building block for social capital in that they provide
networks for professional learning and sharing of innovative
instructional design. It is increasingly evident that limited
opportunities will exist for students who are taught in the
manner we were taught in the 20th century. School districts
cannot be afraid to embrace and utilize social media for
the purpose of establishing social capital. Failure to do so
compromises the quality of education provided to students.
Teachman et al. (1997) wrote that “social capital may be
represented by the density and consistency of educationally-
focused relationships that exist among parents, children, and
schools,” (p. 1344). In education, social capital promotes
Capital...cont’d.
learning, and without the benefit of social capital, intellectual
capital is limited. Today, especially, when funding is limited or
non-existent, it is critical that we use any means necessary
to afford our students a competitive edge. The capacity to
network increases our options to know and be known, giving
our students both the what and the who.
References
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The American Journal of Sociology, 94 (Supplement), S95–S120.
doi:10.1086/228943
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and redesign themselves in online social
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Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Insights. (2016).
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Retrieved June 27, 2016, from
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community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
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the generation of human capital. Social Forces, 75, 1343–1359.
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Vance, J. (2016). Hillbilly elegy: A memoir of a family and culture in crisis.
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York, NY: Springer.
We have all heard the
old saying, ‘It’s not what
you know; it’s who you
know’...turns out, the
capacity to network
increases our options
to know and be known,
giving our students both
the what and the who.