Social capital: suggested measures and indicators
Cox suggests measures that include the elements listed below. These social
capital indicators can provide benchmarks of social wellbeing.
Such measures can apply to the immediate school context and the wider school
community – to adults, as well as students learning their roles as citizens.
They offer two possible uses for school communities:
- to indicate where changes need to be made
- to measure whether the changes are likely to be significant.
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Unobtrusive measures
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Who is accepting responsibilities by complying with rules, written and unwritten, and by taking responsibility for others? Do people pick up rubbish, obey traffic rules, offer help to strangers, greet each other, help each other, share resources, offer lifts, have their kids immunised, speak out about problems, make sure kids are cared for, turn up when they promise, fix dripping taps, take part in local activities, share spaces with strangers or take care of themselves?
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Who feels so angry or depressed that they opt out, exit mentally or physically, become self-destructive, steal, cheat, vandalise, abuse, neglect or commit violence on others? Road rage, drugs, drunks etc. can be seen as social commentary rather than individual pathologies; as can those who care and take responsibility for others.
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Measures of attention and wider interest in society
Who reads the local newspaper, is aware of who runs the council, knows how we are governed, discusses who to vote for, listens to news on the radio or watches it on TV, asks about their company, knows what is needed, who is in trouble and who is doing well?
If there is no interest in social change or social issues, we cannot expect people to engage, to use their time in the public sphere for the public good.
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Sociability and engagement
Who is involved in community groups, charity or volunteer work, informal networks? Who is spending time volunteering in their schools or other educational organisations?
Measures of social involvement are indicators of skills in sociability and a precondition of developing trust. If people have few skills in building interpersonal relationships and no practice in communicating with others, there are major barriers to social relationships. Therefore social involvements in formal and informal groups offer both indicators of social capital and possible sources of its accumulation.
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Attitude measures: How people express their feelings
Who tries to find out more about the things they don't know? Who socialises with people from different cultural groups? Who believes in saving the environment and demonstrates this by recycling and composting? Who gets involved in social movements for change?
We recognise that what people say may not equate with their actual behaviour. However, their expressed fears and approvals indicate the particular 'stories' they have created to explain what is going on and to predict what may happen.
- Expressed approvals: levels of acceptance of a range of social and political activities that may be part of communal resources, redistribution or justice.
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Expressed fears or intolerance: racism, fear of crime, tribalism, gangs, populism, inability to deal with diversity.
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Expectations
Who has access to resources and control over choices to achieve their reasonable desires? Who has faith that there are systems in place to support and create smooth processes toward achievement of goals?
We can measure the gap between expressed reasonable desires and the possibilities of achieving these goals. We need to look for a sense of efficacy, shared empowerment and trust in social processes.
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The multi dimensional picture
Integrating the above indicators can help to ensure the equitable distribution and access of material and other resources. Once collected and analysed, these should be correlated and cross-tabulated with the more conventional social, economic and health indicators.
"For many years Domestic Violence Prevention Week
has been associated with planting seeds, symbolising new life and
nurturing of
all new life so it may grow and flourish.
Planting these seeds is like planting
the seeds
of change, giving hope for the future,
a future without violence.
A group of students have identified themselves as the
'peace group' and each year around Domestic Violence Prevention Week
the peace
group has planted trees and shrubs in
the school grounds making a 'peace garden'.
The 'Peace Garden' is their hope for a future without
violence. This has been a rewarding and positive experience for the young
people encouraging hope and change. Reinforcing the message
that we can do
things to make a positive
change for the future."
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