Community Schools as Sources and Products of Social Capital: A Case Study of an Elementary School

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Geographies, Curriculum Reframing, and Educational Policies in Schools and Communities

Abstract

Using a case study methodology, this paper examines how social capital is manifested in a full-service community school in an urban district. This study reflects ecological and social capital theories stressing interrelationships between/among contexts in which children develop and the importance of networks and relationships in creating /sharing resources. The school’s social capital was derived from a variety of sources (i.e., principal, community-coordinator), and manifested in its flow and exchange of services, information, and resources within the school and between the school and external organizations. Yet, with all the school’s progress, perceptions of unequal access to the benefits existed among some members of the school population. This study shows the relationship between social capital, and community school effectiveness and sustainability.

Authors

• Claudia Lucia Galindo, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Yolanda Abel, Johns Hopkins University

• Mavis G. Sanders, University of Maryland - Baltimore County