ERIC Number: ED672326
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023-May
Pages: 61
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Are Connections the Way to Get Ahead? Social Capital, Student Achievement, Friendships, and Social Mobility. EdWorkingPaper No. 23-774
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Chetty et al. (2022) say county density of cross-class friendships (referred to here as "adult-bridging capital") has causal impacts on social mobility within the United States. We instead find that social mobility rates are a function of county density of family capital (higher marriage rates and two-person households), community capital (community organizations, religious congregations, and volunteering), and mean student achievement in grades 3-8. Our models use similar multiple regression equations and the same variables employed by Chetty et al. but also include state fixed effects, student achievement, and family, community, school-bridging (cross-class high school friendships), and political (participation and institutional trust) capital. School-bridging capital is weakly correlated with mobility if adult-bridging is excluded from the model. R-squared barely changes when adult-bridging is incorporated into the model. When it is included, mobility continues to be significantly correlated with the achievement, family, and community variables but not with school-bridging and political ones. We infer that county mobility rates are largely shaped by parental presence, community life, and student achievement. To enhance mobility, public policy needs to enhance the lives of disadvantaged people at home, in school, and in communities, not just the social class of their friendships.
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Social Mobility, Friendship, Social Capital, Social Class, Attribution Theory, Marriage, Family Characteristics, Correlation, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Citizen Participation, Trust (Psychology), Political Attitudes, High School Students, Models, Parent Child Relationship, Community Involvement, Public Policy, Social Networks, Social Media, Socioeconomic Status, National Competency Tests
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Walton Family Foundation
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Assessment of Educational Progress
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A