The positional effects of education on social capital in the UK

Fox, Stuart, Taylor, Chris ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9146-9167, Evans, Ceryn and Rees, Gareth 2023. The positional effects of education on social capital in the UK. International Journal of Sociology 10.1080/00207659.2023.2227457

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Abstract

Social research consistently identifies education as a key driver of social capital, providing skills, experiences and values facilitating social interaction. This theory cannot explain, however, why indicators of social capital (such as social trust) have not increased despite the massification of higher education in Europe and America. Efforts to explain this paradox have suggested the sorting effects of education may be more important for understanding how it is related to social capital. Empirical applications of this theory have produced mixed results, however, and the literature is dominated by a US focus and methodological disputes that make determining generalizability beyond the US difficult. This research attempts to reconcile some of the methodological disputes and examines the sorting effect of education on social capital in the UK. It finds no evidence of educational sorting for behavioral indicators of social capital, but strong evidence for social trust.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	0020-7659
Funders:	ESRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	3 July 2023
Date of Acceptance:	16 June 2023
Last Modified:	05 Jul 2023 07:07
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/160787

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