Social Capital: Exploring the theoretical foundations of community development education
Pauline McClenaghan,
Corresponding Author
Pauline McClenaghan
University of Ulster
School of Social and Community Sciences, University of Ulster, Magee College, Derry, Northern Ireland; e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorPauline McClenaghan,
Corresponding Author
Pauline McClenaghan
University of Ulster
School of Social and Community Sciences, University of Ulster, Magee College, Derry, Northern Ireland; e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorABSTRACT
Social capital as a concept has over the last decade or more been gaining significance in relation to a number of linked fields of analyses, including the identification of factors influencing educational attainment; explanations of differing levels of participation in formal and informal adult education; and conditions necessary to the construction and enhancement of institutions and practices conducive to lifelong learning. Within these contexts, social capital has come to be defined in a variety of ways, all of which have been linked to collective norms, values and relationships reflecting the involvement of human individuals in ‘a common life based on family and community’. In this respect, social capital enhancement appears to have direct links with community development education in that community development is generally defined as a social learning process which serves to empower individuals and to involve them as citizens in collective activities aimed at socio-economic development. In this contribution, the author questions the validity and efficacy of social capital as an analytical concept in the field of adult education research by exploring a number of key issues related to the assumed links between community development and social capital enhancement. The analysis is based on research currently being conducted by the School of Social and Community Sciences of the University of Ulster.
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