Parents low in formal schooling can still provide high social capital for children’s education

Evidence

In one public school district in the United States where texts for school use were purchased by children’s families, school authorities were puzzled to discover that a number of Asian immigrant families purchased two copies of each textbook needed by the child. Investigation revealed that the family purchased the second copy for the mother to study in order to help her child do well in school. Here is a case in which the human capital of the parents, at least as measured traditionally by years of schooling, is low, but the social capital in the family available for the child’s education is extremely high. — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 146

Categorization

• DEFINE: The mother’s self-study shows social capital is behavioral and relational, not captured by years-of-schooling measures.
• CANDY: The image of immigrant parents buying a duplicate textbook so the mother can study it is a striking, memorable anecdote.
• XREF: connects to: Intergenerational closure among parents generates social capital and effective sanctions for raising children. — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 125; Communal social capital shapes children’s development beyond family resources. — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 176; Family background splits into financial, human, and social capital that affect achievement differently — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 139 (+7 more)

Related

• Parental human capital only benefits a child’s development when family relationships activate it. (similarity 0.89)
• Family background splits into financial, human, and social capital that affect achievement differently (similarity 0.88)
• Communal social capital shapes children’s development beyond family resources. (similarity 0.88)
• Strong parent-child relations are required to transmit parental human capital (similarity 0.87)
• Parental education only benefits children when strong family relationships transmit it. (similarity 0.87)
• Family and city life confer hidden educational advantages on privileged children. (similarity 0.87)
• Intergenerational closure among parents generates social capital and effective sanctions for raising children. (similarity 0.86)
• Effective parenting norms depend on closure across generations between families (similarity 0.85)
• Children need adults’ presence and attention to access parents’ human capital (similarity 0.84)
• Community social capital substitutes for missing family social capital. (similarity 0.84)
• Social capital in the surrounding adult community lowers student dropout rates. (similarity 0.82)
• Declining family and community capital will reduce human capital unless formal organizations substitute (similarity 0.81)
• A working nuclear family lacks structural social capital. (similarity 0.81)
• Adult-to-child ratio measures family social capital available for schooling. (similarity 0.81)
• Adult education levels barely affect child outcomes once social capital is held constant. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Communal social capital shapes children’s development beyond family resources. #expands (0.85) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 176
• Family background splits into financial, human, and social capital that affect achievement differently #corroborates (0.80) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 139
• Parental human capital only benefits a child’s development when family relationships activate it. #qualifies (0.78) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 148
• Effective parenting norms depend on closure across generations between families #qualifies (0.75) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 121
• Social capital accrues value to others beyond those who create it. #expands (0.75) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 208