LM May 2017 Final

social relations and networks resources goodwill, fellowship, mutual sympathy within a social unit connections among individuals a measure of how much we learn through our friends, colleagues, and mentors

within the school community, resulting in positive gains in student achievement. It was evident, even a century ago, that fostering social capital in an effort to enhance school- community partnerships would improve both the schools and communities. Educators were building social capital and utilizing it to advance the welfare of the communities in which their schools existed. Hanifan (1916) concluded that before productive work can be done there must be a collecting of social capital.

(i.e. television and computers—social media had yet to be invented). Putnam (2000) pointed out that the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) was among the most common community organizations in the United States in the middle part of the 20th century. Its membership even doubled between 1945 and 1960, largely due to the population growth of Baby Boomers. However, PTA lost an average of 250,000

families per year between 1960 and 1985 and another 500,000 between 1990 and 1997. The rise of similar independent school organizations, the cost of dues, and the controversy of school politics all contributed to this decline, however Putnam acknowledged, “…that many Americans nowadays are less involved with their kids’ education” (p. 57). Although this notion seems counter to what is often perceived, parental engagement for academic purposes is often a secondary concern at best. Families may be willing to sell fundraiser items at work or attend a Friday night

Robert Putnam referenced social capital throughout his bestselling book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. In it, he analyzed the evolving social climate in the United States, particularly from 1950–2000. Putnam (2000) defined social capital as the “connections among individuals—social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them” (p. 19). He highlighted the fact that Americans were less inclined to actively participate in the political process, local community affairs, or workplace activities, all

It was evident, even a century ago, that fostering social capital in an effort to enhance school-community partnerships would improve both the schools and communities.

of which would include schools to some extent. Individuals’ involvement in groups and organizations became more nominal in the form of writing a check as opposed to being active such as attending a meeting. Neighbors socialized and cared less for one another than they did a century earlier, and families spent less time together. Among several factors, Putnam (2000) attributed this decline in social capital to changes in work, family life, and the influence of mass media

athletic event, making the extra-curricular activities the primary venue for developing social capital in schools. In his recent bestseller, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, J.D. Vance (2016) describes his story of growing up in rural poverty and the plethora of adverse childhood experiences he was able to overcome. He wrote, “Social capital isn’t manifest only in someone connecting you to a friend or passing a resume on to an old boss, it

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