Children and social capital

1
Children and social capital

• Virginia Morrow, ECPE, Institute of Education,
  University of London

2
Context

• New Labour Acceptance that social,
  psychological, economic and contextual factors
  impact on the health of individuals and
  communities
• Individual models of health behaviour and health
  promotion have declined within public health
• Concerns about democracy and civic participation
• Enter social capital

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DEFINITIONS

• Social networks and resources within a community
  that arise from relationships between people
• (NOT a new idea Durkheim (1893) involvement
  with others and social support the solution to
  anomie and suicide)

4
Robert Putnam (1993)

• Italy different rates of economic development
• Social capital ... refers to features of social
  organisation, such as trust, norms, and networks,
  that can improve the efficiency of society by
  facilitating coordinated action (p167)
• Measurable, identifiable set of attributes
• High levels of social capital good,
• Low levels bad (for health as well as wealth)

5
Policy documentation

• Neighbourhoods where people know .. and trust
  each other and where they have a say in the way
  the community is run can be a powerful support in
  coping with the day to day stresses which
  affect health. And having a stake in the local
  community gives people self-respect and makes
  them feel better. (OHN 1998)

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Putnam Bowling Alone (2000)

• The collapse and revival of American community
• Emphasises the centrality of social networks
• Different forms of social capital
• Bonding social capital groups bonded together
  but does not relate to social cohesion
• Bridging social capital bridges divisions such
  as social class, ethnicity, generation
• Linking social capital links groups to
  influential or powerful others

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A contested concept

• meaning and measurement issues
• transportability of the concept
• context economic/historical tendency to
  romanticise the past (Ben Fine 2001)
• gender differences
• family structure the parenting deficit
• absence of consideration of agency for children
  passive

8
Bourdieu (1986)

• Social capital consists of social networks and
  connections contacts and group memberships
  which, through the accumulation of exchanges,
  obligations and shared identities, provide actual
  or potential support and access to valued
  resources (p143)
• AND sociability, in other words, how networks
  are sustained, which requires necessary skill and
  disposition.

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Social capital one amongst many forms of capital

• Economic capital
• Cultural capital
• Symbolic capital
• And these are all inter-related
• And function to reproduce social inequalities.

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Operationalising social capital in research

• Social networks informal, formal/associational,
  familial
• Local identity sense of belonging to town?
• Norms of cooperation reciprocity
• Attitudes to facilities in the community
• Civic engagement participation

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Theoretical frameworks

• Sociology of childhood children as active social
  agents (James Prout 1997)
• Welfare research paradigm the importance of
  place and lay knowledge (Williams et al 1999)

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Research setting and sample

• Two schools in less affluent areas
• Two age bands Year 8 (12-13 year olds) and Year
  10s (14-15 year olds)
• Total number in sample 102
• Significant proportion of children from minority
  ethnic groups (School 1 20 School 2 40)
• FSM rates S1 22.5, S2 47

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Multi-Method approach

• Structured methods written accounts of who is
  important and why activities outside school
  definitions of friendship place of residence
  aspirations for the future and networks of info
  re. Jobs
• Visual methods map drawing and auto-photography
• Group discussions sense of participation

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Findings Social networks

• Webs of individual, neighbourhood school based
  INFORMAL social networks complicated by
  familial circumstances
• Geographical proximity influenced how they felt
  about where they lived
• Trust located in relationships with friends
• Family important for being there
• EGs

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Local identity and sense of belonging

• Sense of belonging derived from relationships
  with family and friends
• No clear sense of identity related to the town
• Strong sense of mistrust from adults dirty
  looks
• Awareness of poor reputation of the town

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Views of neighbourhood

• Little involvement in formal community activities
• Facilities were generally unsatisfactory
• Racial harassment
• Threat of sexual assault
• Pollution, traffic, aircraft noise
• Moany neighbours

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Participation

• In school School 1 had a school council but this
  was problematic we get played for fools
• School 2 No council.
• In both places, no real sense of participation in
  their communities

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Practical suggestions

• Activities for their age group, and for younger
  and older children
• Improving traffic
• Making paths and shortcuts safer
• Suggestions about the police

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Social capital?

• Advantages of social capital framework
  highlights the importance of social context a
  useful tool to explore social processes
• Disadvantages too woolly. Social life too
  complex.
• Definitions of community need to be broader.
• Social structural pressures were impacting on
  this age group

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• Need to link social capital with other forms of
  capital and
• To wider economic and political structures
• Wider political responsibilities of local and
  national government to ensure a good quality of
  life for children in environmental terms.

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References

• Department of Health, (1998) Our Healthier Nation
  Green Paper.
• Bourdieu, P. (1986) Forms of Capital. In
  Richardson, J (ed) Handbook of theory and
  research for the sociology of education.
  Greenwood Press New York.
• Fine, B. (2001) Social capital or social theory.
• James, A Prout A (1997) Constructing and
  reconstructing childhood. Falmer Press, London.
• Morrow, V. (2001) Networks and neighbourhoods
  childrens and young peoples perspectives. HDA
  London.
• Putnam, R. (1993) Making democracy work.
  Princeton University Press.
• Putnam, R. (2000) Bowling alone the collapse and
  revival of American community. NY Simon
  Schuster.
• Williams F, Popay, J, Oakley, A (1999) Welfare
  research a critical review. London UCL Press.