Social capital and educational achievements: Coleman vs. Bourdieu

The influence of social capital on an individual’s educational achievements is the subject of numerous scientific papers. Research on social capital is most frequently based on Coleman’s (1988) or Bourdieu’s (1986) theories of capital, which are related to different paradigms of social theory: whereas Coleman’s approach has its roots in structural functionalism, Bourdieu’s approach contains elements of conflict theory. A number of authors, starting with Bourdieu, attempt to explain and prove that, when connected with the education of individuals, the activity of social capital facilitates social reproduction. Other authors support the notion that social capital is, in fact, a powerful weapon that encourages social mobility. A third group of researchers emphasise that neither of these approaches in isolation can entirety explain the influences of social capital on an individual’s education (Ho, 2003). The present paper offers a review of research focusing on the influences of social capital on educational achievements, while outlining the fundamental differences between the two theoretical approaches that are most frequently used for research of this topic. The aim of the paper is to explain the influence of social capital on an individual’s educational achievements under Bourdieu’s and Coleman’s theoretical concepts, and to establish whether combining the approaches is possible. The conclusion and arguments show that it is legitimate to use all three theoretical approaches. (DIPF/Orig.)

Educational achievement in Swiss childhood cancer survivors compared with the general population.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to describe educational achievements of childhood cancer survivors in Switzerland compared with the general population. In particular, the authors investigated educational problems during childhood, final educational achievement in adulthood, and its predictors. METHODS: Childhood cancer survivors who were aged <16 years at diagnosis from 1976 to 2003 who had survived for ≥5 years and were currently ages 20 to 40 years received a postal questionnaire during 2007 to 2009. Controls were respondents of the Swiss Health Survey ages 20 to 40 years. Educational achievement included compulsory schooling, vocational training, upper secondary schooling, and university degree. The analysis was weighted to optimize comparability of the populations. The authors analyzed the association between demographic and clinical predictors and educational achievement using multivariable logistic regression. Subgroup analyses focused on survivors aged ≥27 years. RESULTS: One-third of survivors encountered educational problems during schooling (30% repeated 1 year, and 35% received supportive tutoring). In the total sample, more survivors than controls achieved compulsory schooling only (8.7% vs 5.2%) and fewer acquired a university degree (7.3% vs 11%), but more survivors than controls achieved an upper secondary education (36.1 vs 24.1%). In those aged ≥27 years, differences in compulsory schooling and university education largely disappeared. In survivors and controls, sex, nationality, language region, and migration background were strong predictors of achievement. Survivors of central nervous system tumors or those who had a relapse had poorer outcomes (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Childhood cancer survivors encountered problems during schooling and completed professional education with some delay. However, with the exception of patients who had central nervous system tumors and those who experienced a relapse, the final educational achievement in survivors of child cancer was comparable to that of the general population.

Educational achievement in Swiss childhood cancer survivors compared with the general population

The objective of this study was to describe educational achievements of childhood cancer survivors in Switzerland compared with the general population. In particular, the authors investigated educational problems during childhood, final educational achievement in adulthood, and its predictors.

Major demographic changes in Bangladesh and their socio-economic correlates: Analysis of trends

Catalogues the demographic changes in Bangladesh during the period 1975-2000 and examines how they relate to key socio-economic attributes. Trends are examined in population growth, growth of the working age population, women’s workforce participation, age-dependency ratio, female-male ratio, longevity, fertility, mortality and mean age at first marriage. Bangladesh has made significant breakthroughs in all these areas, a feat not matched by most other South Asian countries, but comparable with the South-East Asia region as whole. The study isolates factors contributing to the changes in each attribute. It assesses the correlation between Bangladesh’s demographic changes and selected socio-economic indicators namely, its per capita GDP, female labour force participation, per capita public health expenditure and educational achievements by both men and women. All five socio-economic variables display statistically significant correlation, in varying degrees, with measures of the demographic changes. Per capita GDP is probably the most significant determinant of demographic changes in Bangladesh. The study observes that men’s education reinforces women’s education and with increased workforce participation contributed to reduced fertility. The study suggests that the role of family planning programs in curbing population growth in Bangladesh maybe overestimated.

Alfabetização e educação de adultos : um percurso de 1910 a 1926 : das intenções políticas às medidas concretas

Este trabalho visa contribuir para uma melhor percepção da problemática do analfabetismo, em Portugal, no primeiro quartel do século XX, tendo em conta o ideário educativo republicano e as suas concretizações a nível do ensino primário. Neste sentido, foram traçadas as linhas estruturantes desta problemática: uma, centrada nas ideias educativas sobre o analfabetismo e os debates no quotidiano escolar e jornalístico; e a outra referente às concretizações e realizações educativas republicanas que operacionalizaram o combate ao analfabetismo. O conceito de analfabetismo foi o fio condutor de todo o trabalho, do qual se delinearam as seguintes áreas: (i) Dos finais da Monarquia Constitucional à República: breve perspectiva histórica e educativa; (ii) O analfabetismo e suas causas; (iii) O combate ao analfabetismo; (iv) Escolas móveis e cursos nocturnos na promoção da alfabetização e, (v) Programas escolares: as propostas governamentais. A cada área corresponde um capítulo. A fonte principal deste trabalho foi a Imprensa de Educação e Ensino, consultada na Biblioteca Nacional, pois a mesma oferece uma complexa vastidão de materiais pertinentes para o tema. Entre os vários periódicos compulsados, destacam-se A Federação Escolar, Educação Nacional e O Professor Primário. A pesquisa exploratória e selectiva também conduziu ao semanário Sul da Beira. Muitas obras e estudos da época foram ainda pesquisados, com destaque para as actas dos Congressos da Liga Nacional de Instrução. Igualmente se afigurou significativo perscrutar o Diário da Câmara dos Deputados, o Diário do Senado da República e ainda o Diário do Governo para serem trabalhados, respectivamente, os debates parlamentares e a legislação. Assim, foi objectivo do trabalho configurar um painel revelador do tema que mobilizou personalidades académicas, jornalísticas e políticas, no período compreendido entre 1910 e 1926.

Roads towards gender equity in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

The digital economy for structural change and equality

Includes bibliography.

Heterogenous match efficiency

In this paper, we show a model with one-sided endogenous match efficiency. It is assumed that schooling can enhance match efficiency, and people will choose the schooling level optimally to balance its costs and benefits of enhanced match efficiency. Assuming a financial market imperfection which limits individuals to borrow, we showed that, in equilibrium, when educational achievements can be characterised by dicohotomy (secondary vs. tertiary), tertiary education gives higher wages even it only has pure match efficiency (signalling) value with no human capital value. We also showed that relative match efficiency vis-a-vis its mean matters in wage levels.

CONQUISTAS EDUCACIONAIS DOS SURDOS NO CONTEXTO BRASILEIRO A COMPREENSÃO DE AUTORES SURDOS E NÃO SURDOS SOBRE ESTE EVENTO

Esta pesquisa se propõe a investigar qual a compreensão que autores Surdos e não surdos tem diante das conquistas dos Surdos, apontadas no contexto educacional, de forma a examinar os diferentes elementos e aspectos envolvidos indicando quais os principais atores e autores deste cenário. A Pesquisa Bibliográfica foi o procedimento metodológico adotado, com análise dos conteúdos coletados em livros de autoria de Surdos ou não surdos. O parâmetro cronológico para esta pesquisa está localizado nos últimos quinze anos, período em que as novas determinações da Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional LDB / 96 tem desacomodado questões relacionadas à educação de pessoas com deficiências. Aparentemente por conta de determinações e regulamentações do Decreto nº 5.626 de DEZEMBRO / 2005, as discussões a respeito dos Surdos e da Língua de Sinais tem ocupado um espaço diferenciado na sociedade, em especial nas escolas regulares e na formação de professores. Num primeiro momento, parece tratar-se de reflexos das discussões postas pelas Políticas de Educação Inclusiva, no entanto, a questão relacionada aos Surdos tem para muitos se destacado quanto à dimensão de suas conquistas e, por vezes parece se referir a uma invenção da atualidade: o Surdo e a Língua de Sinais.

Four years with FALCON - an ESTRO educational project: achievements and perspectives.

Variability in anatomical contouring is one of the important uncertainties in radiotherapy. FALCON (Fellowship in Anatomic deLineation and CONtouring) is an educational ESTRO (European SocieTy for Radiation and Oncology) project devoted to improve interactive teaching, the homogeneity in contouring and to compare individual contours with endorsed guidelines or expert opinions. This report summarizes the experience from the first 4 years using FALCON for educational activities within ESTRO School and presents the perspectives for the future.

Viewpoints of local school board presidents : educational problems, achievements, and challenges /

WI docs. no.: Ed.3/2:I 5/1978/6/6

Pre-school contributions to future achievements

This paper provides recent evidence about the beneÖts of attending preschool on future performance. A non-parametric matching procedure is used over two outcomes: math and verbal scores at a national mandatory test (Saber11) in Colombia. It is found that students who had the chance of attending preschool obtain higher scores in math (6.7%) and verbal (5.4%) than those who did not. A considerable fraction of these gaps comes from the upper quintiles of studentís performance, suggesting that preschool matters when is done at high quality institutions. When we include the number of years at the preschool, the gap rises up to 12% in verbal and 17% in math.

Educational reform in Chile

Includes bibliography

Media Education and Brazilian Educational Policies for the Enhancement of Learning

As media education concepts and practices have been disseminated and strengthened in European countries and Americas, the policies responsible for that expansion remain little known, particularly in countries where the achievements have been recently noted. That is the case for Brazil, where there have been new opportunities for media education, considered as a valuable resource to help accomplish goals of the educational system. This paper looks into the contribution of media education to the enhancement of teaching and learning in the context of innovations brought by recent policies of the Brazilian Ministry of Education. After educational reform programmes which brought the opportunity for emerging fields such as media education, we produced teaching material and conducted a series of workshops with students and teachers from state secondary schools. By reading and producing multimedia information about local public services available to young people, pupils learned about democracy, citizenship, civic engagement, media language, and identity. Lessons from our experiment are discussed against the backdrop of education policies being implemented to ameliorate harsh conditions resulting from the recent economic crisis. We suggest that media education can help by creating a learning environment in which the students become aware of the value of educational attainments.

Cultural and Educational Society of Muslims "Narodna Uzdanica" /"National Hope"/ 1923-1941

Ibrahim Kemura. The Muslim Cultural-Educational Society Narodna uzdanica from 1923/4 to 1941 One of the features of the cultural history of the Bosniacs between the two world wars (1918-1941) was a cultural and educational society named Narodna uzdanica, which was a significant institutional and cultural-intellectual centre of the Bosniac people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Narodna uzdanica expressed the aspirations and needs of the Bosniac citizens who were its main support and axis and was aimed at fulfilling their interests. This was reflected in an ideological-cultural orientation towards the West and the adoption of positive western achievements while at the same time stressing its Slavic origins and individuality, the education of young people and the formation of a European-type civic intelligentsia, adaptation to life in capitalist society, the development of modern trade and crafts, the emancipation of women, and cultural education based on European values. Thus conceived, the programme enjoyed the support of a wider circle of members, the reading public and the cultural consumers of those particular elements such as education and economic prosperity which it sought to achieve. The political involvement of Narodna uzdanica and its use as a platform for the leading Bosniac political party Jugoslovenska muslimanska organizacija (JMO - Yugoslav Muslim Organisation) which had founded the society, played a significant role in the socio-political life and development of Bosniacs. The opposition to the ruling regime, often expressed through close cooperation with similar Croat organisations and through the pro-Croat attitude of some of the society's leading figures, offered both the regime and Narodna uzdanica's political adversaries grounds for describing it as separatist and Croat and served as a pretext for repressive measures to hinder its normal operations. This research proved these accusations to be groundless, showing that the pro-Croat orientation was primarily political and cultural and that throughout its existence Narodna uzdanica was active in the cultural and educational renaissance of Bosniacs, helping to strengthen their national identity.