Social Capital and Social Networks in Schools

1 Course Unit

Schools are key organizational contexts in which students, teachers, and parents develop relationships with one another. Drawing on conceptualizations of social relations as a resource (e.g., Pierre Bourdieu, James Coleman, Nan Lin), a rich scholarship identifies the advantages of school-based relationships, from channeling information and advice, to providing emotional support, to encouraging involvement. This work illuminates how the architecture of social networks and actors’ locations within these networks have significant consequences. This graduate seminar offers an introduction to theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding school-based social structures. Not Offered Every Year 1 Course Unit