Resources, Learning, and Policy: The Relative Effects of Social and Financial Capital on Student Learning in Schools

Abstract

In this paper, we note the contrasting positions occupied by social and financial capital in state and federal education policy and compare their relative impacts on student learning. To make such a comparison, we analyzed data from a representative sample of Michigan’s elementary schools using multilevel structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among social capital, instructional expenditures, and student achievement. We found that the level of social capital characterizing schools was not a function of instructional expenditures. We also found that both social and financial capital had a positive and significant relationship with reading and mathematics student achievement. However, the effect of social capital was three and five times larger than that of financial capital on mathematics and reading, respectively. We discuss the implications of these findings for education policy and programs that might improve student learning by strengthening social relationships.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Hanushek counted each estimate of resources separately to arrive at the conclusion that money has no impact on student achievement. Others have argued that it would be more appropriate to count each publication as a separate estimate (see for example, Hedges et al., 1994).

2 The weights were computed as the inverse of the estimated response propensities from a logistic regression, using the stratification variables as controls. Two of the seventy-eight schools had excessively large weights, and after acknowledging negligible effects on point estimates for survey variables, the two outlier school weights were trimmed down to the next highest school weight. Weights were employed in all analyses.

3 For example, gangs can be characterized by strong social networks and high levels of solidarity and trust among members but their normative orientations generally do not lead them to promote prosocial outcomes.

4 In operationalizing financial capital, we experimented with a variety of finance variables (i.e. class size, per pupil expenditures, and the like). However, other than instructional expenditures per pupil, none had a significant relationship with student achievement.

5 At the time these data were collected, the state used the deficit term Limited English Proficiency (LEP) but we choose to use the more resource-orientated term, English Learner (EL), throughout this paper.