Knowra Social capital Social capital Social capital is the resources and opportunities people can access through relationships, networks, and group membership. It includes benefits such as information, trust, influence, and mutual aid.
Bonding social capital : Resources gained through strong ties among people with shared identities or close relationships. It captures the support and solidarity available within tightly connected groups.
Network theory : The study of structures formed by connections among people, organizations, or other entities. It provides tools for explaining how network structure shapes access to resources.
Pierre Bourdieu : A French sociologist whose work analyzed power, social class, culture, and forms of capital. He treated social capital as resources linked to durable group membership and social position.
Human capital : Knowledge, skills, and abilities embodied in individuals that can support productive activity. It locates resources in personal capacities, unlike social capital’s resources in relationships.
Social exclusion : Processes that restrict people’s participation in social, economic, political, or cultural life. The same network boundaries that benefit members can leave outsiders without access.
Bridging social capital : Resources gained through connections that link people across different social groups. It explains how networks provide access beyond a person’s immediate circle.
Weak ties : Relationships with limited intimacy or interaction that can connect people to otherwise distant social circles. They often carry novel information between groups that rarely interact.
James Coleman : An American sociologist known for applying rational-choice ideas to education and social structure. He explained how obligations, trust, and norms can function as resources for action.
Social mobility : Movement of individuals or groups between positions in a social hierarchy. Networks can affect access to education, employment, and other routes to mobility.
Social closure : The restriction of access to resources or opportunities by limiting membership in a group or network. It shows how social capital can preserve advantages for insiders rather than spread them broadly.
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