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Chetty et al. (2022) say county density of cross-class friendships (referred to here as "adult-bridging capital") has causal impacts on social mobility within the United States. We instead find that social mobility rates are a function of county density of family capital (higher marriage rates and two-person households), community capital (community organizations, religious congregations, and volunteering), and mean student achievement in grades 3-8. Our models use similar multiple regression equations and the same variables employed by Chetty et al. but also include state fixed effects, student achievement, and family, community, schoolbridging (cross-class high school friendships), and political (participation and institutional trust) capital. School-bridging capital is weakly correlated with mobility if adult-bridging is excluded from the model. R-squared barely changes when adult-bridging is incorporated into the model. When it is included, mobility continues to be significantly correlated with the achievement, family, and community variables but not with school-bridging and political ones. We infer that county mobility rates are largely shaped by parental presence, community life, and student achievement. To enhance mobility, public policy needs to enhance the lives of disadvantaged people at home, in school, and in communities, not just the social class of their friendships.

Most research about how to improve the teacher workforce has focused on interventions designed to improve incumbent teachers, far less attention has been directed toward teacher hiring processes and whether districts can make better hiring decisions. Using data from Spokane Public Schools and Washington state, we describe the findings from a study analyzing measures of the predictive validity of teacher applicant quality measures obtained from professional references. We find that professional reference ratings of prospective teachers are significantly predictive of teacher quality as measured by inservice performance evaluations and teacher value added in math. These findings are driven by applicants with at least some teaching experience and vary by rater type (e.g., principal or university supervisor); the magnitude of the relationship between the ratings of applicants and teacher performance is much smaller and not statistically significant for applicants that do not have teaching experience. Overall, the evidence suggests that obtaining explicit ratings of teacher applicants from professional references is a low-cost way to contribute to the applicant information available to hiring officials and has potential for improving hiring outcomes.

Created by LatCrit scholars in the mid-2000s, Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) is an antideficit framework for understanding educational inequality. Since its publication, Yosso's (2005) seminal paper on the topic has been cited thousands of times by scholars in fields as distinct as engineering, K-12 education, and public health. This paper reviews the recent scholarship on college students' experiences and outcomes that uses CCW as a guiding framework. Although the intended audience for this review is career services professionals in colleges and universities, my hope is it can also be helpful for scholars of career development who want to brush up on the CCW literature and consider future research questions the framework presents. The existing literature offers insights on the college-to-career transition. It reveals the centrality of familial capital in shaping students' career pathways, the function of resistant capital in forming students' career interests, the utility of students' existing social capital in the job search process, and the role of counterspaces in activating CCW for career success. However, CCW scholarship typically focuses on college students' matriculation, persistence, sources of support, and wellbeing, not on their career development--including the psychological, spiritual, sociocultural, political and economic factors influencing students' career interests and the knowledge, relationships, and environmental contexts shaping their career choices (Duffy & Dik, 2009). This gap presents opportunities for researchers and career services professionals to partner in creating and evaluating programming with CCW in mind. There are also opportunities to increase the methodological diversity of CCW scholarship, to consider the ways in which students mix CCW with "dominant" forms of capital for career success, to collect data from employers, faculty, and other gatekeepers, and to account for the role of institutional context.

Professional societies (ProSs) are instrumental in shaping science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) cultural norms. Existing legacy structures designed to serve majority groups and constructed in service of dominant norms and values present a clear obstacle to attracting, retaining, and serving minoritized STEM professionals, such as women, particularly women with additional intersecting marginalized statuses (Solebello et al., 2016). In this perspective article, we in the Amplifying the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success project, known as ACCESS+, explain our development of an adapted diversity, equity, and inclusion assessment tool. ACCESS+ is an NSF ADVANCE Partnership that is adapting a pre-existing tool known as the Diversity and Inclusion Progression Framework, which was developed in the United Kingdom jointly by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Science Council (2021). As with the original version, the purpose of the U.S. adaptation--the Equity Environmental Scanning Tool, or EEST--is to provide STEM ProSs with a way to benchmark their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, discern areas of organizational strength, and identify foci for organizational remediation. In this piece, we share background information for EEST refinement, including content adaptations and structural changes.

Scholars recognize that K-12 teachers' social interactions, particularly within teaching focused relationships, are important to professional development. This is true whether discussions take place in formal or informal settings. Few studies, however, seek to link the teaching-focused relationships of "college faculty" directly to their instructional practice, nor to explore perceptions of what these relationships entail and how they influence teaching at the college level. Using surveys (n=868), interviews (n=83), and a social capital theoretical framework, this mixed-methods social network analysis explores associations between teaching focused "personal networks"--compilations of relationships surrounding individual faculty-- and the use of evidence-based instructional methods. We also explore faculty perceptions of how network interactions shape their teaching. Quantitative results indicate that the size, range, and strength of faculty teaching-focused personal networks positively correlate with the use of evidence-based instructional methods, while qualitative results point to the ways faculty see different kinds of network ties, relational mechanisms and objects, and returns influencing teaching practice.

This paper was written in 2018 by NCWD/Youth [National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth] to inform the development of the Guideposts for Success 2.0, an update to the original Guideposts for Success published in 2005. Since it was created in 2005, the Guideposts for Success has become nationally recognized as a valuable research-based framework to inform policies and practices designed to prepare and support youth in transition to adulthood. In 2012, NCWD/Youth began an in-depth process aimed at updating the Guideposts for Success to reflect the latest research studies and current professional standards of practice for supporting youth in transition to adulthood across multiple service systems and sectors. The process included reviewing literature related to youth transition from multiple disciplines.

With the increasing price tag of college and rising student debt, the employability of graduates is a dominant narrative shaping postsecondary policy and practice. Yet, completion and the acquisition of a credential alone does not guarantee employment, and research on hiring reveals its subjective aspects, particularly when cultural signals of applicants are matched to those of organizations. In this qualitative study of 42 manufacturing firms, the prevalence of hiring for cultural fit is examined using thematic and social network methods to analyze the interviews that were conducted. Results indicate that 74% of employers hire for cultural fit, but, contrary to prior research, this matching process is not simply a matter of fitting applicant personalities to monolithic "organizational cultures" or interviewer preferences. Instead, employers match diverse applicant "dispositions" (e.g., personality, attitude) and "competencies" (e.g., cognitive, interpersonal, intrapersonal) to the personalities of existing staff as well as to industry-specific norms that are dominant within specific departments. The paper discusses implications of these findings for college students, faculty, and career advisors, especially in light of the potential for discriminatory practices during the job search and hiring process.

Existing research on the effectiveness of college career services centers (CSCs) has primarily focused on students' rates of utilization and their satisfaction with the programs and services offered. Based on survey (n = 372) and focus group data (n = 35) from undergraduate business students, we found that participants were most satisfied with the CSC's provision of practical tools that enhanced employability and were least satisfied with the CSC's integration of students' backgrounds and interests during advising. Our qualitative analysis yielded three categories of contributors (i.e., sociocultural factors, independent activities, and institutional factors) to student career outcomes, which were psychological characteristics, career decisions, and social capital. Sociocultural factors were most prominently featured in students' narratives of their experiences, in that they shaped how students leveraged institutional resources and how they engaged in independent activities as part of their career trajectories. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.

Research indicates that teamwork, communication, self-directed learning, and problem-solving skills are strongly linked to individual academic and professional success, yet little is known regarding how college educators and employer trainers learn to better teach or train others in these valuable skills in postsecondary and employment STEM contexts. This pilot study uses social network analysis--a research perspective studying relationships or "social ties" to better understand the ways interactions influence behavior--to explore the dimensions of educator and trainer discussions regarding methods for helping students or employees acquire important skills. The study also examines whether educators and employers believe such discussions influence their instruction. A descriptive analysis of data from online surveys collected from educators (n=192) and employers (n=70) in technology and manufacturing fields in southern Wisconsin and western New York indicates respondents frequently engage in such teaching- and training-focused discussions with people inside and outside their colleges and businesses. Though more college educators are involved in such conversations than employers, employer trainers who engage in such conversations do so with individuals affiliated with more diverse organizations. Results also indicate that educators and employers who have these discussions do so at a similar frequency. Finally, most educators and employers with teaching- and training-focused social networks perceive them to be beneficial to their teamwork, communication, self-directed learning, and problem-solving instruction. In light of these findings, leaders hoping to further develop teaching- and training-focused social networks in education and employment fields may find more success in openly promoting the importance of such social ties as well as providing more opportunities for intra- and interorganizational professional development in instruction.

Understanding the return on investment (ROI) in VET provides governments with information on the performance of the system and justification for public expenditure. It can help enterprises and individuals to measure productivity improvement in firms or to determine increases in the employability of individuals following training investment. However, the measurement of ROI is not straightforward. This report introduces a conceptual framework for defining what is involved in the ROI calculation and provides a guide to what type of information and data are required to calculate the returns to training for government, employers and individuals.

A primary rationale for public provision of K-12 education and state financing of school spending is that education fosters civic engagement and the development of social capital. However, limited evidence exists on whether and how school spending affects civic engagement. Virtually all studies focus on the impact of educational attainment (as opposed to school spending) on political activity. We provide the first causal evidence on how school spending affects volunteerism as well as voting. The court-ordered and legislative school finance reforms that occurred throughout the United States over recent decades led to large and plausibly exogenous shocks to K-12 school spending. We estimate difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) models to isolate the causal impact of school spending on civic engagement. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), and the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS), we find that exogenous increases in school spending led to increases in the probability that young adults volunteer and the amount of time they spend volunteering. In contrast, we find little evidence that school spending impacts voting. Consistent with prior studies, we find that increases in school spending increase high school graduation and college attendance.

Research has shown that there is a gap in educational achievement between socioeconomic and racial groups in the public education system in the United States. This paper identifies the link between resources and academic achievement. Through examining educational resources, from in-school factors, such as facilities and teacher quality, to out-of-school factors, such as family structure, socioeconomic status, and community values, this study serves to evaluate several theories of social capital in the hopes of providing an explanation for why this achievement gap exists. The review of the literature provided an inconsistent view on which factor has the most impact on educational achievement across diverse groups. In turn, this paper explores the possibility that the factors are interrelated and therefore difficult to compare. By outlining an analogy between Jared Diamond's (1999) geographic luck theory from "Guns, Germs, and Steel" and the public education system in the United States, this paper shows the importance of resources to academic achievement and how social capital plays a consequential role in students' performance in school.

Social capital refers to the attributes and qualities of family, social and community networks that facilitate cooperation between individuals and communities. The quality of these networks and the extent to which individuals are engaged with them are believed to have an impact on the educational and social development of children and young people. Some evidence suggests that the influence of community networks can even help to offset some of the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage. Its intangible nature makes measuring social capital difficult. Measuring the social capital of young people is even more difficult because people tend to focus on the social capital of their parents and pay less attention to that of young people. This briefing paper discusses how young people's social capital can be examined using the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). The paper is divided into four sections. In the first, the author looks at two social capital frameworks to clarify the various themes and complexities associated with social capital. In the second section he draws on these frameworks to assess the suitability of using data from LSAY to investigate social capital and its relationship to youth transitions. The next section summarises other social capital-related research that has used LSAY data. Finally, he draws some conclusions and makes some recommendations for future directions for LSAY in this area. Appended are: (1) Social Capital Questions, 2004-05; and (2) Social Capital and Social Capital-Related Questions. (Contains 2 figures, 3 tables and 1 footnote.)

Five years after implementation, the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA40104, and hereafter also referred to as the Certificate IV) remains a pivotal qualification in the national vocational education and training (VET) system. Under the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) it is the qualification required by both workplace trainers/assessors and trainers/assessors working in classroom situations in registered training organisations (RTOs). Graduates with this qualification are in a position to have a significant influence on the quality of VET delivery. Consequently, opinions abound regarding the content and delivery of the qualification. There is a small but growing body of research, reports and conference papers that focus on the implementation of the qualification (Alexander 2007; Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board 2008), its fitness as the benchmark for trainers and assessors in the national VET system (Innovation Business Skills Australia 2006; McRae 2008; Smith 2007; Robertson 2008, 2009) and more recently the experiences of those who have undertaken the qualification (Down, De Luca & Galloway 2009; Clayton 2009). This paper aims to contribute to this body of research by exploring the goals of a sample of Certificate IV candidates and their expectations of the course, and comparing their initial intentions with their actual outcomes. As the author works in the adult and community education (ACE) sector in New South Wales, the sample was drawn from among the 25 NSW ACE providers with the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment on their scope of registration. The research findings will be useful for registered training organisations who are seeking a procedure for examining and comparing intent and outcomes. This paper provides a brief overview of current research and reports on the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and other literature relating to the measurement of learner intent and outcomes. The paper then discusses the findings that emerged from the data collected for this research. Appendices include: (1) Online survey questions; (2) Phone interview questions; and (3) Profiles of phone interviewees. (Contains 2 tables, 9 figures, and 1 footnote.)

Partnerships between literacy teachers and community service workers have the potential to engage people with low literacy levels in learning. Through interviews and surveys with these two groups, this paper explores their views on literacy, how it impacts on their work, and their ideas about partnerships with each other. Overall, partnerships are viewed more favourably by literacy teachers than community service workers. In addition, if partnerships are to proceed, both groups need to develop a greater awareness and appreciation for each other's roles. This research was undertaken by a novice researcher in the Community of Practice Program and was funded as part of NCVER's Building Researcher Capacity initiative. Appended are: (1) Definitions; and (2) Survey. (Contains 9 tables and 2 figures.)

A case study of one low income African American child, Peter Horner, is used to explore how children accumulate various forms of writing capital. Peter's development was tracked over 10 years, from first grade through high school. The construct of time is explored by examining how capital contributes to the construction of "habitus" (Bourdieu, 1971) and how habitus may or may not have privileged Peter at his urban high school and in his future. The construct of capital, as described by Pierre Bourdieu (1986), is applied specifically to the various forms of writing capital that Peter displayed across his educational trajectory. This paper uses the framework of writing capital to analyze Peter's writing and reveal the alignments, tensions, and disjunctures that existed between his success as a writer, his school success, and the ease with which his accomplishments extended into contexts beyond school. While Peter appeared to be developing various forms of writing capital and habitus as a writer, as evidenced by writing samples collected over time, structural and institutional constraints threatened to limit his ability to take advantage of this capital and enact the habitus he had assumed. The findings of this study challenge notions that unproblematically associate capital acquisition and embodied habitus with success in school and beyond. (Contains 1 footnote, 11 figures, and 6 tables.)

College is increasingly essential for economic and social mobility. Current research devotes significant attention to race and socioeconomic factors in college access. Yet wealth's role, as differentiated from income, is largely unexplored. Utilizing a nationally representative dataset, this study analyzes the role of wealth among students who attend four-year colleges. The hypothesis that wealth matters through the provision of differential habitus, social capital, and cultural capital that support the college-going process, is tested through the application of a series of binary logistic regressions. The results indicate that while wealthier students are much more likely to attend a four-year college than their less wealthy peers, the influence of wealth is essentially eliminated once we consider academic achievement, habitus, and social and cultural capital. This indicates that wealthier students garner advantages through increased academic preparation and through the characteristics of their upbringing, such as the type of school attended and parental expectations. Furthermore, controlling for wealth causes the disparities in four-year college attendance associated with race to disappear. Notably, Hispanic students are significantly more likely than white students to attend a four-year college in certain specifications, while black and Asian students are not significantly different from white students in any specification. (Contains 8 tables and 4 figures.)

This study of social capital employs data from the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL), funded by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) and conducted at Portland State University to increase understanding of the learning process of adults with limited formal education. It provides longitudinal data on how people continue learning in multiple contexts--through formal adult education programs and in their daily lives. This paper is presented in two sections. The first is a theoretical exploration of the intersections of critical literacy, adult learning, and social capital theories. The intent of this discussion is to introduce key concepts from multiple disciplines and develop a synthetic model of social capital influences on lifelong learning (SCILL) in which adults construct their social environment and the discourses that influence their learning strategies. The second section empirically tests a piece of the SCILL Model related to the structural and discursive dimensions of social capital, using data from the first wave of the LSAL. Multiple measures of social capital are detailed. The author argues that in addition to the structural dimension of social capital, local discourse generated through interaction is an interpretive dimension of social capital. The discussion ties the empirical and theoretical elements, offering implications for the study of adult education participation in adult education for research on social capital. Appendices include: (1) Longitudinal Study of Adult Literacy Study Design; (2) Instrument Items from LSAL Wave 1; (3) Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Lifelong Learning; (4) Tables of Descriptive Statistics and Univariate Analyses of Indicators; (5) Items Parameters in Final Models; and (6) Model Calibration. (Contains 18 tables, 3 figures, and 6 footnotes.)

The experience of long-term poverty affects many child outcomes, in part through a family stress process in which poverty is considered to be one of the major factors causing family dysfunction, depression among caregivers and inadequate parenting. Recent scholarship extends the classical Family Stress Model by researching the ways in which neighbourhood contexts might mediate or modify these relationships. Neighbourhoods vary from the affluent to the economically deprived and since the long-term poor rarely live in well-off neighbourhoods, measures of neighbourhood disadvantage add little to family poverty in the prediction of child health and behaviour problems. But neighbourhoods also differ in the degree to which they are socially organized, cohesive and supportive to the enterprise of raising children. Sociologists refer to this as the "social capital" of neighbourhoods and propose that such social capital may ameliorate the effects of poverty and help parents raise children to achieve their full potential. This study reports the construction of measures related to social capital (Collective Efficacy and Social Support) at the neighbourhood, rather than the individual level, and the use of these along with a battery of census characteristics and other explanatory variables in the prediction of outcomes for longitudinal children aged 4 to 15 in the NLSCY [National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth]. The authors used statistical modeling to study the impact of higher or lower amounts of social capital in a national sample and in a smaller sample of some 200 neighbourhoods (as defined by census enumeration areas). The results support some aspects of an expanded family stress theory in that the effects of long-term poverty upon child outcomes are mediated, but also moderated by neighbourhood social capital, and by family "burnout" (dysfunction and parental depression). The study confirms previous research showing that certain parenting styles are strongly associated with children's health and behaviour problems, and that neighbourhoods account for small but significant proportions of the variation in child outcomes. An innovative result is that the degree to which long-term poverty impacts child outcomes varies according to the characteristics of neighbourhoods. The authors caution that their study cannot provide national estimates of the impact of neighbourhood social capital on child outcomes. A bibliography is included. (Contains 3 figures, 12 tables, and 30 footnotes.) [This paper is available in French under the title: "La pauvrete, le capital social, les competences parentales et les resultats des enfants au Canada."

Responding to the need for research in rural mathematics education, three investigators develop an initial research agenda in this area. Because this development is perhaps unique, the investigators envision the utility of this initial agenda in terms of both product and process. Drawing from 190 questions from multiple sources in mathematics, mathematics education, and rural education, the authors develop 12 questions and 48 illustrative subquestions as an initial agenda. The questions are developed both to indicate relevancy as research and to indicate dispersion among possible variations of specific questions. Four recommendations are made about the process of developing these questions involving cross-disciplinary collaboration, technical processes, and applications. This manuscript is an outgrowth of the current work by the research initiative of the Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics (ACCLAIM). (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.) Appended are: (1) Original 190 Questions with Relevance and Approachability Rankings by each, Researcher (R); and (2) Top 25 Questions sorted by Average Standardized Relevance.

Social capital helps communities respond positively to change. Research into managing change through learning in communities and in small businesses, particularly farm businesses, has highlighted the importance of relationships between people and the formal and informal structure of communities to the quality of outcomes experienced by communities. Communities can be geographic communities or communities-of-common-purpose, such as agricultural commodity organizations or discussion groups. This paper reviews research into managing change through learning and social capital, presents a model of the simultaneous building and use of social capital, and explores the ways in which learning as part of an agricultural community can be used to bring benefits to isolated geographic communities. The model presented stems from studies in Tasmania (Australia) of the informal learning process that builds resilient communities. The two-stage model conceptualizes the way in which social capital is used and built in interactions among individuals. The first stage depicts social capital at the micro level of one-on-one interactions, focusing on knowledge resources and identity resources (identification with and commitment to the community). The second stage of the model outlines the interrelationship of micro-level social capital processes with community-level and societal-level social capital resources. (Contains 54 references.) (Author/SV)

This analysis addresses the role of car usage in employment outcomes such as employment status, average weekly wages, and weeks worked per year. It postulates that car ownership is an important employment tool for adults of low educational attainment in Portland, even in the context of other factors such as social networks/resources (social capital) and literacy skills (human capital). This research used data from the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning to examine the role of car usage in employment outcomes. The results indicate a strong relationship between car ownership and employment status, average weekly wage, and weeks worked per year. Additional analysis shows that this relationship remains strong even when other factors, such as education level, literacy proficiency, and social networks are accounted for in the model. Interestingly, the relationship varied by gender. Car usage generally was more influential in the employment outcomes of men than of women. These results show that car usage is important for non-high school graduates in Portland, and that while literacy proficiency is important as well, its impact is separate from car ownership. This work seems to suggest some directions for programs geared toward helping individuals with low educational attainment find and maintain employment. The answer may not necessarily lie solely with car ownership assistance; indeed, as suggested by this research, a combination of literacy proficiency training and flexible transportation alternatives would likely have the greatest impact. (Contains 9 tables, 7 footnotes, and 1 figure.)

Researchers have theorized that programs to promote positive citizenship should begin with an opportunity for adolescents to participate in civic activities, such as community service or political volunteering. In this report, authors expand this theoretical perspective by arguing that programs to promote positive citizenship may need to begin by focusing on: social interactions in youths' lives, such as interactions with parents and peers; the environment in which youths live, such as neighborhoods and schools; and on promoting civic values. The authors hypothesize that these influences in early adolescence lead to civic engagement in late adolescence, and from late adolescence to young adulthood. A theoretical model from early adolescence to young adulthood is tested, incorporating insights from two previous studies of civic engagement. In a sub-analysis, authors examine the influence of ethnicity-related factors on civic engagement. Results conclude that: (1) Previous civic participation predicts future civic participation; (2) Social context influences youth civic engagement above and beyond previous civic participation; (3) Cultural context is important for policy makers and program developers to understand; (4) Promoting youths' values and goals could further promote youth and young adult civic behaviors; (5) More comprehensive measures of citizenship behaviors, attitudes and values should be created; and (6) There is not yet an understanding of how social capital promotes youth and young adult civic behaviors. (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.) [The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) promotes research on the civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25. Although CIRCLE conducts and funds research, not practice, the projects that they support have practical implications for those who work to increase young people's engagement in politics and civic life. CIRCLE is also a clearinghouse for relevant information and scholarship. CIRCLE is based in the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy.]

A study was conducted to understand the informal learning processes of the members of a worker natural foods store cooperative, The Big Carrot, in Toronto. Eight members with central roles in the natural foods retailer were interviewed. In addition, key documents and other writings on the cooperative were examined. The data indicate that members of the cooperative acquire the knowledge that is needed to perform their roles using informal learning processes. Processes most often used were the following: (1) learning from experiences (learning by doing); (2) discussions (either one-on-one or during meetings); and (3) questions to internal experts and other members. The study concluded that the success of the informal learning processes at the Big Carrot may be due in part to the"social capital" in place as a result of the cooperative structure in which workers play a more integral role than in more common capitalist businesses. (Author/KC)

A case study in a rural Australian township sought to determine the nature of the interactive productivity between the local networks in a community. Participants were chosen based on recommendations of community members concerning to whom they turn for help, advice, or information. Community interactivity was recorded using interviews, tape-recorded community meetings and interactions, and personal diaries. Findings indicate that informal learning is an important factor in the formation of social capital and that there are two categories of resources upon which people draw as they interact with each other. The first is knowledge resources, which comprise the common knowledge base of community, personal, individual, and collective information. These include knowledge of the skills, knowledge, and affective attributes of other community members, and knowledge of the common physical resources of the community. The second is identity resources, which are the common understandings of personal, individual, and collective identities, categorized as social and civic identities. Formation of social capital depends on sufficient numbers of interactions in which members foster each others' learning by sharing knowledge resources, build each others' self-confidence or encourage positive identity shifts in each other, and exhibit trust. It was also found that microinteractive processes have the capacity to link with meso and macro social, civic, and economic outcomes. (Contains 64 references.) (TD)

A case study in a rural Australian township attempted to determine indicators verifying the existence of social capital. Social capital is provisionally defined as the networks, norms, and trust that constitute the capacity of individuals, workplaces, groups, organizations, and communities to strive for sustainable futures in a changing socioeconomic environment. Participants in the study were chosen based on recommendations of community members on who provides them with help, advice, or information. Analysis of interviews, tape-recorded community meetings and interactions, and personal diaries identified three categories of resources that people draw on as they interact with each other: 1) knowledge resources, or the shared knowledge of community, personal, individual, and collective information; 2) identity resources, or the shared understandings of personal, individual, and collective identities; and 3) consolidated resources, the common understanding and familiarity with community assets used reciprocally for mutual benefit. A set of indicators of these resources used in "community interactive productivity" was then developed. Interactive productivity is viewed as the community learning processes by which social capital is created. The terms "community learning" and "capacity building," and the possible causal link between social capital and economic well-being are discussed. (Contains 56 references.) (TD)

Rural communities with populations of under 15,000 are the least resilient to negative economic shocks, but local initiatives can reduce the negative impact of rapid economic change. Data from a study of three rural Australian communities and one "community-of-common-purpose" were used to develop a model of how the informal learning process inherent in community action builds resilient communities. Learning, social capital, and change are interlinked. The model identifies the resources used in the learning process, which are the resources that form the social capital of the community. These social capital resources are: (1) a knowledge of who can provide advice, support, information, and resources; and (2) identity resources, that is, a sense of belonging or willingness to act for the benefit of the community. The model illustrates that social capital is built as it is used. Informal learning interactions help people get to know each other and develop networks. They also build a commitment to the community and people's confidence to act for community benefit. Both quantity and quality of interactions have a role in the development of social capital. Qualitative elements such as shared language, shared experiences, trust, personal development, and identification with the community help build knowledge and identity resources and thus improve the quality of learning interactions. An understanding of the ways in which communities develop and use social capital as they learn will help build resilient rural and regional communities. (Contains 41 references.) (TD)

Although it is true that education is an investment, there are risks associated with relying too strongly on the metaphor of education as investment. The main problems with the investment metaphor are as follows: (1) it pushes aside the notion of education as a consumption good that people want for its own sake; (2) the human capital approach can cast a shadow over forms of learning unable to prove adequately that they are a profitable investment; and (3) the measures used for input and output in analyses of the relationship between education and economic performance are problematic. Education should be viewed not as an investment in human capital but rather as an investment in social capital. It may be argued that, rather than fostering a system of lifelong learning, the expansion of higher education (especially initial higher education) has merely concentrated resources on the initial phase of education at the expense of later opportunities, which is neither an effective nor a socially equitable way of allocating resources. To get closer to a learning society, the current preoccupation with the supply of education must be replaced with closer attention to the factors influencing the demand for education. (Contains 11 references.) (MN)

In response to budget problems, many urban school systems reduced resources for getting students to come to school, like truancy officers. Chicago, for instance, went from 150 truancy officers down to, in 1991, a total of zero. Is that a good idea? We explore here the effects of increased support by a pro-social adult, or "social capital," delivered through a structured student monitoring and mentoring program called Check & Connect (C&C). We carried out a large-scale randomized controlled trial with C&C in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to students in grades 1-8. Program participation decreased absences in grades 5-7 by 4.2 days, or 22.9 percent, but with no detectable effects on students in grades 1-4. We also did not find statistically significant effects on learning outcomes such as test scores or GPA, or any detectable spillovers to other students within the schools where the program was administered. The modest impacts per dollar spent, compared to previous evidence on either low-cost "nudges" or relatively intensive, higher-cost interventions, raise the possibility that, for very disadvantaged students, there may be decreasing but then increasing returns to program intensity for the problem of student disengagement.