Forms of Social Capital and Their Applicability to Teacher Education - Report Example

Education / Social Work Your name Course name Professors’ name Date Education / social work There exists a strong correlation between performance of students and positive relationship with various stakeholders in school. A well-built partnership with the community and family has an automatic effect of sustained student’s development and growth. This is in recognition of the fact that parents provide mentorship program while the community shapes the external social relationship. It is apparent that a regular society operates under specific norms which a student has to adhere to. A study by Berthelson & Walker (2008) demonstrates clearly that a student and a stakeholder must collaborate with each other if the specific objective and the wide goals are to be achieved in a short and long term respectively. It is the responsibility of a teacher to formulate ways and means of making contact with the community and families. A teacher therefore must be sophisticated with techniques of bringing together students, community and the immediate family. We can note that knowledge of economic development within a school community is important to a teacher while preparing a student for the future life. Consequently, higher student’s performance is as a result of awareness with the needs of the society (Berthelson & Walker, 2008). An example of a strategy available to a teacher within a teaching - learning environment is the use of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) model. Appraising the effectiveness of asset mapping is part of the strategy at the exposure of a teacher. In simple terms, asset mapping is an aspect of recognising the surrounding community and ultimately pointing out what other people perceive of the same community (Mathie, 2003).It involves gathering a list of positive things about a community and subsequently ranking them with reference to value attached to them by the community. When all is done, there is need to determine a motive for attaching much importance to some assets as compared to others. The resultant map helps a teacher or rather educational researcher to form a strategy which will ensure a perpetual existence of the most valued community asset (Berthelson & Walker, 2008). Asset mapping is useful in planning and organising development in a community set up. Furthermore, asset mapping recognises diversity in a community consequently eliminating discrimination while allocating scarce resources. Some of the specifics to be addressed by asset mapping include: resource allocation, crisis resolution, economic vision and plans, disaster preparedness and finally policy framework for developing marginal areas (Bourdieu,1983) From this explicit explanation, asset mapping is important to a teacher in educational sector since it screens the community where a student has to be a functional individual. While formulating study groups, a teacher must be aware of the needs of the community in order to impart in students relevant content of the curriculum. In the recent past, educational planners have been critical of the relevance of the curriculum in preparing students to serve in their various communities. Asset mapping is a tool to be utilised (Putnam, 1993) Social capital In a definition by Bourdieu (1983) ‘social capital refers to the collective definite or probable wealth which is linked to individuals in an institutionalized or less institutionalized network’. From this definition, social capital is related to the structure of the community and supports certain actions of individuals. The norms which shape up society’s social interaction make up the social capital. Putnam (1993) explains vividly that social capital establishes a connection between individuals. Mutual respect and trust are essential components which ensure success of social capital. To register a success in socio – economic development, members in a community must bring together their difficulties, merge them together and chant the best way forward. According to Mathie (2003) it concurs with the above statement and is specific that the goals and objectives of the community can be realized via limiting individual differences while streamlining efficiency of common resources. In an illustration by Epstein (2001) ‘community connectedness, proactive/social agency,. Although the mentioned factors vary with the community setup, it is the obligation of the community to find a common ground of tranquillity. Forms of social capital and their applicability to teacher education i. Bonding social capital There are varieties of social capital that form strong families and communities. Bonding social capital is a form of social capital which invites trust and close relationship with members of a family or friends. This form of social capital is a great asset to individuals attempting to tackle daily challenges and experiences. ii. iii. Bridging social capital To be able to handle daily life’s challenges, relationships with people from different networks is imperative. In doing so, the impermanent gap in social capital is reduced to a minimum level. The act of bridging social gap after establishing relationship from different network creates opportunities. This will enable flow of resources from areas of sufficiency to areas of insufficiency. The form of social capital being utilised is the bridging social capital. iv. Linking social capital Another important form of social capital is the linking social capital which allows members of the community to use resources and power via relationship with influential member. In this case, the authority reflects the elite and the powerful individuals who are controlling major part of the resources in a system. Comparison made on social capital is important to a teacher while evaluating performance of students in a school set up. Students from elite families tend to access enough educational resources consequently gaining ability to perform well. Students whose backgrounds are feeble in terms of resources experience internal family squabbles which in most cases results to fights. This affects the psychological setting of a student and will extend to performance in class. For this reasons, planners and policy makers must emphasize on redistributing resources for equal development. Communities must be well integrated in the outlook such that poor families have access to excess resources of the rich. A teacher must therefore make use of bonding social capital, bridging social capital and linking social capital in a school environment. Community Development and Empowerment A study by Mathie (2003) elaborates on the changing aspects of the community which is tending to a diverse nature described by interdependence, self reliance, and empowered community. The aim of this changing nature of the community is to shape up the social capital while empowering weak communities through resource redistribution. In the past, ‘program approach’ was utilized in community development. Recent research has seen the development of ‘developmental approach’ which is evaluated as the most effective given the present times. This is outlined in a table below. Developmental approach program approach a) center of interest is on the people b) the approach is oriented to enable people c) it gives power to community and individuals d) association is drawn first e) the approach is operated in the neighborhood f) procedure is followed g) the present position forms the starting point for the program h) suitability of a program is critical a) The interest is on program itself employing b) It operates through prescription c) It has the aspect of manipulating the community d) The results matters most and occupies the first step e) Approach is operated from a central point i.e. by experts f) Intensive map is formulated g) Originally intended position matters most h) impartiality is of much importance In summary, the traditional approach (program approach) employs the use of experts from outside the community with an objective of assisting the community in its rebuilding strategy (Beaulieu, 2002). Although the program was originally intended to give good end results, this objective has not been realized. The reason is that the program dictates to the community what they should do after an analysis of their needs. The image obtained from the approach is that of unsuccessful and weak community with full dependence on external assistance instead of sourcing their own. To eliminate this bad perception and help attain social capital, ‘developmental approach’ comes in handy (Kretzmann, 2005). This approach is critical since it captures community involvement in their development strategy. The community therefore gets a chance to evaluate their potentials in terms of technical knowledge, tangible assets, and skills. After the evaluation process, decisions made have a direct effect on the community which will make them appreciate the value of the decisions (Putnam, 1993). Asset Based Community Development model simply highlights on how power to make decisions is delegated to communities (Beaulieu, 2002). Example of the Asset Based community Project in Bateau Bay To lay bare ABCD approach, educational project in Bateau Bay will be utilized as an example. The project simply bases its activities on campaigns and projects with reference to small category of people and communities. Learning process is the first step while the art of linking ideas and plans makes up the second step. The aim of the learning process is to apply the skills gained in class to daily experiences. To effectively deliver educational objectives in the project, learning objectives must mirror a sense of creativity, accessibility and relevance (Kretzmann, 2005). The community project operates under special philosophy such as: learning oriented to behavioral change, flexibility and creativity in communication, expanding community knowledge and skills, and connecting the project to daily experiences. One of the advantages attached to the project is its non discriminatory aspect. The target for the project covers all the audience from young children to adults. This means that a variety of learning styles is utilized. The basis of the project is on the standpoint that the success of a family can be achieved by building on the asset base (skills, knowledge and other resources). Community project in Bateau Bay has established a correlation between good educations in a community, its development and establishment of communities which relate well with a child (Kretzmann, 2005). With regard to bringing up young children, the community project worked in collaboration with families and the community at large to develop simplified version of resources which will facilitate shaping a child to be a responsible individual. Key theme with reference to literacy i.e. ‘Read with me’ was used with an objective of facilitating reading. In addition to this, National Simultaneous Story time encouraged the worth of reading while discouraging illiteracy. Furthermore, ‘community reading day’ brought together families to read with their children, capture a narrative, and try to imagine different context in life. ‘Book week’ and ‘nutrition’ was also part of the themes in this community project (Beaulieu, 2002).The themes were meant to satisfy the psychosocial needs of a child while growing up. To extend the artistic part of a child, games and songs were formulated. All the mentioned themes were a success in the community project. One of the principles of community development is that low income communities work together to achieve change. It further demands that change processes must be undertaken by those communities that require change and not through external people doing it for them. Teacher’s role is important because of credibility in terms of access to social capital. In using the ABCD approach, teachers are able to avail more assets to students and hence build s-f-c partnerships. This is possible because asset mapping identifies the resources and hidden talents within a community (Beaulieu, 2002). Asset mapping Beaulieu, (2002) argues that asset mapping is a tool to use when exploring on the community resources and skills. This will extend to communities with varied socio - economic background. Kretzmann, (2005) states explicitly that ‘within a school, a number of assets including: networks, facilities, economic power, personnel, expertise and students already exist’. Furthermore, Kretzmann, (2005) held that mapping the assets entails an integral process of giving details in relation to qualities of each asset and relating it to how it can be utilized for the common benefit. It also involves examining the usefulness of each asset in a learning environment. He further identifies five categories through which community assets can be evaluated; i. local residents ii. Local voluntary organizations iii. Local institutions iv. Physical assets v. Economic assets Parties in building partnerships should rely on trust and integrity to enable mutual benefit. Through asset mapping, a school is able to access financial benefits. This could be through sponsorship and access to grants. The main philosophy that underlies asset mapping is to ensure that all community members play an effective role in the school with disregard to educational attainment, gender or racial differences. These relationships consequently empower community members enabling easy access to social capital through connections with school authorities (Beaulieu, 2002). Asset mapping in the building of s-f-c partnerships has limitations. In the first case, conducting and formation of an asset map consumes time. Communities may at times feel that they have nothing special to offer to the school (Beaulieu, 2002). Proper ways of overcoming limitations need to be identified. One widely used mode is through strict adherence to the set up. This involves the use of rules and regulations and strict adherence to the same. The intentions of the partnerships should be made clear before the start of the program. Furthermore, there should be a record of how others have contributed to the school. This will serve as a clear example of what is expected from the communities that so wish to engage in asset mapping(Beaulieu, 2002). In an analysis by Putnam (1993) a small group was formed in an attempt to construct asset map of a particular area with an ultimate aim of building s-f-c partnerships. As a first step to the program specific terms of engagement in terms of expectations from members were laid down. Formal norms governing the functioning of the group were then developed based on the likes and dislikes during group work processes. After investigation, there was need to develop and assign tasks based on each individual’s strength and abilities. Tasks were allocated to highly skilled members of society to achieve the best possible outcomes. An example of this was done with the allocation of IT requirements Stempfle, (2001) observed that other tasks were assigned based on what individuals like performing best. In addition, Stempfle (2001) further observed that members were put together in groups, assigned tasks and given ample time to do the tasks and come up with conclusions. The major factor that contributed towards the success of the group was the sharing of skills required for teamwork, for example problem solving, verbal and non- verbal communication abilities. Johnson & Johnson (2006) outlined four types of groups operating as an effective system. In a nutshell, the groups functioned effectively when each group member was accountable to his or her actions. All members worked together in the hope that a desirable outcome was possible with positive input from all members. In pseudo and traditional groups team members shared the urge to participate and make equal contributions. An asset map has been formulated to evaluate the group. The group is evaluated in terms of the quality of the cohesiveness of communication and the experiences of group members. Groups put forth guidelines which guide joint learning. How the research undertaken in this paper will influence my approach to teaching The research will enable me to appreciate the importance brought about by school-family-community partnerships. My role would be that of facilitating these partnerships. Furthermore I would be able to improve the number of times of ABCD and asset mapping. The task of identifying successful group practices that I can employ in my teaching methodologies becomes an easy mission. Being a teacher, I can easily access social capital. This is because of my capacity as part of a staff group hence gaining ability of being acquainted with the rich interpersonal networks and relationships. The knowledge of typological social category which my students belong, will enable me assist their families in terms of bonding and linking them with available opportunities. In building school-family partnerships, I will use strategies from Epstein’s framework of six types of involvement for comprehensive programs of partnerships (Epstein 2001).The framework envisages provision of two- way communication channels between the school and home with parents keenly following up on students work. Read More