The Contribution of Volunteering, Trust, and Networks to Educational Performance

Abstract

Social capital can have a beneficial effect on public policy outcomes by helping to solve collective action problems and by providing individuals and communities with efficient social networks. In education, it also assists students’ self‐confidence, which can foster motivation and academic success. To investigate the social capital‐outcome link, this article analyzes a panel survey of 15–16 and 16–17 year olds in 27 English schools, testing whether social capital, both at the individual and at the school levels, tends to increase grades and examination performance. The analysis concludes that individual‐level trust and voluntary action improve pupil performance, but that the parental networks of some young people, particularly those from low socioeconomic status families, have negative rather than positive consequences. The findings add to a debate about the differential impact of social capital and the relative importance of its bridging and its bonding elements.