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CHAPTER EIGHT: SOCIAL CAPITAL

8.1 Social capital refers to the processes between people that establish networks, norms and social trust that facilitate co-ordination and co-operation for mutual benefit, leading to reciprocity and the achievement of mutual goals (Baron, Field and Schuller, 2000, Schuller et al, 2004, Field, 2005). As a structuring and explanatory concept, it has both risen in prominence in the last decade and been subjected to critique and re-interpretation since its genesis through the works of Bourdieu, (1977), Coleman (1994) and Putnam (1993, 2000). Recent studies have pointed to the complexities of definitions and operation of social capital, as well as to the 'dark side' of what were originally perceived as beneficially supportive arrangements (Baron, Field and Schuller, 2000, Field, 2003, Schuller et al, 2004, Field, 2005). For what were initially constructed as mutually reinforcing ties, have now also been recognised as potentially binding shackles in some circumstances and for some groups in society. In addition, these authors have highlighted the difficulty in isolating social capital as a prime determinant of change because it is so inextricably bound up in a complex nexus of other socio-economic factors that individually and collectively impact on the lives of adults. Nevertheless, there appears to be a broad acceptance of an association between social capital and participation in structured learning, and on the whole, this association is deemed to be a positive one because strong social networks seem to enhance participation in learning (though Field's study in Northern Ireland counters this trend: Field, 2005), and learning in turn seems to increase social capital. The combined effect of trust, networks, norms and reciprocity also creates both strong communities and a sense of personal and social efficacy. The development of social capital involves the active and willing engagement of citizens within a participative community, i.e. ' links between like-minded people' (bonding social capital) and/or ' the building of connections between heterogeneous groups' (bridging social capital) (Baron, Field and Schuller, 2000:10). However, where the bonding capital is high and the norms of the community are not associated with participation in learning, then it is unlikely to be easy for adults to bridge into a learning community.

8.2 Research also suggests that developing an identity as a learner is shaped by the complex interaction of a number of factors that relate to the social, because learning is essentially a social activity. These include past learning experiences and the mediating effect of family influences upon them (Rees et al., 2000), as well as the norms and values of the social networks that individuals belong to (Baron et al., 2000; Gallacher and Crossan, 1999; Maclachlan and Cloonan, 2001; Crowther et al, 2001). These are the networks, associated norms, and levels of trust that are the basic building blocks of social capital (Baron Field and Schuller, 2000; Putnam, 1993). As Field suggests therefore, 'social capital is important for learning, and learning is important for social capital' (Field, 2005:110).

8.3 The precise nature of the interconnectedness of social capital and learner identity is often fuzzy, always context dependent and not easily isolated from a range of other determinants of learning. This research, therefore, sought to explore potential links between social capital and literacy learning in those learners participating in the study. It was also mindful of the fact that a disproportionately high percentage of literacy learners belong to communities that experience socio-economic marginalisation (Scottish Executive, 2001) where levels of participation in structured learning remain persistently low (Aldridge and Tuckett, 2003). However, these participants had engaged in learning, had potentially bridged between different communities, and it therefore sought to examine the impact that this had on their social capital.

8.4 With the exception of Schuller et al.'s studies (2004) much of the research on social capital and learning has looked at the impact of social capital on participation in learning (see Field, 2005). This study aimed to examine the opposite trajectory, i.e. the impact of learning on social capital because the indices of success for Scotland's ALN policy (Scottish Executive, 2001) involve charting change in individuals, in families and in communities.

8.5 Social capital therefore provided a relevant framework for analysis, as it was hypothesised that learners might improve their social capital as a result of participation in programmes. Strawn (2005: 551) has argued that the discourse of particular communities around education is an important component of social capital because it is a function of interpersonal interaction over time. Her research has found that people who live in communities where education is seen as a means of getting ahead are more likely to participate in formal learning programmes. It was hypothesised in this research that similarly participating in ALN would build a discourse around education that would in turn lead to enhanced social capital. The research therefore asked learners the same questions in the first and second rounds to see if their views about themselves, their communities and their networks had changed.

8.6 Whilst recognising that the social capital elements of the questionnaire were necessarily circumscribed in light of the range of issues the questionnaire was designed to cover, the particular social capital indices were selected because they represented some of the defining characteristics of the concept as identified in previous research (Murtagh, 2002, Tuijnman and Boudard, 2001, Halman, 2001, OECD, 2001, Baron, Field and Schuller, 2000, Campbell et al, 1999, Bullen and Onyx, 1998). They included: identification with and attitudes towards the neighbourhood, social and civic engagement, feelings of safety and belonging, social contacts and supportive networks, and levels of confidence in social situations. The questionnaire therefore sought to identify any associations between participation in ALN learning and these elements of social capital and to consider how they might inform the enhancement of provision.

8.7 Learners were therefore asked if they liked where they lived as research shows that the more positive people are about their home and locality the greater their social capital (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000; Bullen and Onyx, 1998; Cote and Healy, 2001). The questions were about the general physical quality of their neighbourhood, their house, how they felt about their neighbours, the facilities available to them locally and their local social life. Table 8.1 below is a comparison between the views of the learners that took part in both rounds of interviews who answered these questions. Although it indicates little change between the first and second round this is not surprising, nor does it run counter to other research findings as learners were generally very positive about this aspect of their lives from the beginning and scored highly on this aspect of social capital from the start. There does appear to be a slight shift towards an even more positive disposition towards neighbours and local social life which may relate to the increase in social activity charted below, however, the shift is not statistically significant.

Table 8.1: Aspects of neighbourhood - comparison between 1 ^st and 2 ^nd round responses

8.8 Learners were next asked if they had taken part in a range of activities because again research shows that activity builds social capital through developing knowledge resources as a result of more opportunities for interactions with other members of the community (Putnam, 1993; Falk and Kilpatrick, 2000). Chart 8.1 shows the changes between the first and second rounds. Percentages are based on the 359 learners who responded to the question in both interview rounds.

Chart 8.1: Do learners go out regularly?

8.9 There was a statistically significant increase in the numbers of learners who indicated they went out to pubs, clubs and/or the cinema from the first (54%) to the second round (63%) of interviews. The change was statistically significant for females with 61% of females reporting going out at their second round interview compared to 50% at the first interview. Older learners showed a similar statistically significant increase in the numbers going out (49% 1 ^st round, 60% 2 ^nd round). There was no significant change between rounds of learners going to meetings (35% 1 ^st round and 36% 2 ^nd round) or engaging in voluntary work (29% 1 ^st round and 30% 2 ^nd round). It would appear therefore that there had been an increase in social, but not civic, activity between the two rounds.

8.10 Learners were then asked if they wanted to become more involved in local activities. From chart 8.2 it can be seen that there has been both an increase in people saying definitely no and also in those saying definitely yes. From the qualitative data reported in section 10 relating to changes in learners' lives, it appears that these changes are caused by learners becoming clearer about what they do, and do not, like to do with their lives.

Chart 8.2: Do learners want to become more involved in local activities?

8.11 Those learners that did not want to become more involved, 164 in the first round, 170 in the second round, were asked about what prevented them from doing so. Reasons differed slightly between the first and second rounds as can be seen from Table 8.2. There has been a decrease in learners' concerns about their ability to cope with the English or numerical ability required and an increase in other interests. These, combined with the reporting of a lack of time to do things, suggests that the learners were increasingly involved in other chosen activities and it is feasible that these increased levels of involvement were related to their reduced levels of concern about their literacy and numeracy skills, in other words their feelings about their lack of ALN abilities was not as strong a barrier to social engagement as it had previously been.

Table 8.2: Why learners don't want to become more involved in local activities

8.12 The next questions were about personal safety as again this is an area that research has shown impacts on social capital because feeling safe leads to a greater willingness to engage in networks and trust people in the neighbourhood (Campbell et al., 1999). As can be seen from table 8.3 below, changes have been so minor that there is no measurable difference between the first and second rounds of interviews.

Table 8.3: Learners' feelings of safety - comparison between 1 ^st and 2 ^nd round responses

8.13 The final question was about the learners' contact with other people as again research shows that being in social contact and able to get help if it is needed lead to positive social capital, through building both knowledge resources of who, when and where to go to for advice or resources and through being willing to act for the benefit of the community and its members (Campbell et al, 1999; Falk and Kilpatrick, 2000). Engagement in learning can, in turn, lead to increased levels of social engagement, particularly for isolated and vulnerable adults (Field, 2005:108-9). As can be seen from table 8.4 below there have been a number of changes between the first and second rounds.

Table 8.4: Contact with others - comparison between 1 ^st and 2 ^nd round responses

8.14 There was a statistically significant (5% level) increase in the number of learners reporting that they could get help from friends and others living around them if they wished. Eighty-eight percent and 92% of learners at the first and second round of interviews respectively noted being able to get help from friends and others in their locality. There was also a significant (5% level) increase among older learners noting this.

8.15 The one area where there was a decrease was that learners were significantly less likely to indicate having voted in the last election/recent referendum at their 2nd interview than at their first. At their first interview 68% of learners said they voted while 54% reported voting at their second interview. This drop was significant for males and females, older learners and those in both FE (5% level) and non- FE. However, it is important to note that there were no elections to vote at during the time period of the second interview so these results are likely to be influenced by this fact.

Summary

8.16 Overall the respondents had very high social capital at the beginning of this study in that they generally liked their neighbourhoods, and were well integrated in their communities. However, the qualitative testimony of the learners in Chapter 10 tentatively suggests that their social capital may have been operating in a negatively binding fashion re-enforcing non-participatory norms, for many of the respondents were very nervous, tentative and lacking confidence in engaging in structured learning, as the case studies and Section 4.3 illustrate, and it is reasonable to infer that they would not have been so tentative had learning been integral to the norms of their networks.

8.17 However these adults did engage in learning and this section has shown an associated statistically significant increase in their social capital between the two rounds, specifically in relation to their levels of social activity and contact with others. The only decrease was in 'voting' but this was likely to be because elections had not occurred during the interview period. Although the complex operation of social capital precludes the attributing of any direct causal relationship between the two, these findings concur with the evidence of other research into learning and social capital as indicated earlier in this section, and will be discussed more fully later in the report.

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