Religious schools generate social capital that independent private schools lack.
Evidence
These families have intergenerational closure that is based on a multiplex relation: whatever other relations they have, the adults are members of the same religious body and parents of children in the same school. In contrast, it is the independent private schools that are typically least surrounded by a community, for their student bodies are collections of students, most of whose families have no contact. The choice of private school for most of these parents is an individualistic one, and, although they back their children with extensive human capital, they send their children to these schools denuded of social capital. — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 183
Categorization
- DEFINE: Introduces the key concept of ‘multiplex relations’ generating intergenerational closure.
- ADDENDUM: Parallels the network/grafting logic of ‘Grafting & Growth’: dense interlocking connections as invisible infrastructure that pays off later.
- XREF: connects to: Churches plant in public schools at industrial scale subsidized by residents — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 881
Related
- Religious communities’ intergenerational closure replicates Catholic-school dropout benefits. (similarity 0.83)
- Churches plant in public schools at industrial scale subsidized by residents (similarity 0.80)
- Communal social capital shapes children’s development beyond family resources. (similarity 0.78)