ERIC Number: EJ1091879
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-189X
EISSN: N/A
The Ties That Bind: How Social Capital Is Forged and Forfeited in Teacher Communities
Bridwell-Mitchell, E. N.; Cooc, North
Educational Researcher, v45 n1 p7-17 Jan-Feb 2016
The effects of social capital on school improvement make it important to understand how teachers forge, maintain, or forfeit collegial relationships. Two common explanations focused on formal organizational features and individual characteristics do not address how social capital accrues from informal dynamics of teachers' interactions in communities. Our longitudinal study of teacher networks in four urban public schools finds that teachers in larger communities and communities with stronger cohesion are more likely to interact with each other over time. Teachers who frequently span community boundaries are less likely to continue interacting. These community-level characteristics are stronger predictors than teacher traits and formal organization. Our results have implications for how schools can support teachers in maintaining relationships and generating social capital.
Descriptors: Social Capital, Communities of Practice, Social Networks, Collegiality, Interpersonal Relationship, Longitudinal Studies, Interaction, Elementary School Teachers, Organizational Culture, Questionnaires, Teacher Characteristics, Community Characteristics, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Teacher Surveys
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: SES0433280