Social Capital in the Shadow of Redevelopment: Navigating Education in Changing Neighborhoods

• In Event: At The Intersection of Schools, Housing Policy, Neighborhood Change, and Social Capital

Abstract

Social networks can provide families with essential information, guidance, and material resources that may lead to great educational opportunities. Yet, social networks can also function to reproduce educational inequalities by race and class. Policymakers may want to intervene on social networks to expand opportunities to low-income or marginalized children and their families. This study draws on in-depth interviews with 47 parents living in a mixed-income neighborhood of Detroit to understand how families from different class backgrounds use social networks to advance their children’s educational opportunities. Our findings reveal distinct differences in the nature and use of social ties by class that have implications for how policy should be designed to expand, rather than disrupt, the social relationships of low-income families.

Authors

• Sarah Winchell Lenhoff, Wayne State University

• Huriya Jabbar, University of Southern California

• Margaret Dawson-Amoah, University of Southern California

• Ayana Cheyenne Colvin, University of Pennsylvania

• Angelica Ramirez, Wayne State University

• DeMarcus A Jenkins, University of Pennsylvania

• Kara S. Finnigan, University of Michigan