Abstract
Social capital has been identified as a mechanism for combating the social disadvantage that children experience in their lives. Part of its appeal is the way in which it helps us to think about these aspects in new or innovative ways (McGonigal et al, 2007). One group of children that are affected by social disadvantage are looked after children and this disadvantage often follows them into adulthood making them some of the most disadvantaged adults in society. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to investigate whether or not social capital theory as a concept has anything original to offer in explaining the low educational achievement of children looked after in the UK today. Through the examination of concepts such as bonding social capital, bridging social capital, linking social capital and trust, we determine that social capital theory can be usefully deployed to help to theoretically interpret the low educational achievements of looked after children.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 52 |
| Number of pages | 64 |
| Journal | Journal of Children's Services |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- looked after children
- education
- social theory
- social captial
- care experiences