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April 21, 2005
Articles: Community Development Society
The CD Journal's next issue will be focused on the role of youth in community development. Issue 33-34 centered around theories of community development, but also included some school related papers.
- Investing In Communities: Social Capital's Role In Keeping Youth In School ~ Israel and Beaulieu (Vol.34, No.2)
Many community leaders view economic development as the primary strategy for improving social well-being. One approach to economic development is enhancing the local labor force’s human capital through formal education. In this article, we use a social capital framework to analyze how local institutions, specifically families and schools, affect educational achievement among public school students. We explore how social capital in the broader community context mediates the effects of family and school social capital on keeping students in school. Using hierarchical linear models to estimate these contributions, the results reaffirm the vital role of family social capital. They also show that attributes of school and community social capital make important contributions to staying in school. Our results suggest strategies that community development practitioners and local leaders can use to enhance educational outcomes and, in turn, the economic vitality of communities.