Parental Social Capital and Educational Outcomes: A Homogeneous Property or a Diversely Accessible Resource Across Ethnic Groups?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: Ethnic Groups, Microagression, and Social Capital

Abstract

This paper discusses the nature of parental social capital, relevant to educational outcomes, across different ethnic groups. It is argued that parents’ mobilisation of social capital is not homogeneous across all social groups but rather dynamically influenced by issues of ethnicity. Parents from Black African, Black Caribbean and Indian backgrounds exhibit different levels of mobilisation than White British parents with regards to the various types of social capital, such as parental participation in the school community and parental aspirations. It is therefore suggested that social capital is a multi-dimensional concept which should be understood in relation to the contexts within which it resides and their particular social specificities, such as ethnic inequalities.

Author

• Maria Papapolydorou, University of Greenwich