AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

This case study involves one private and one public high school of similar demographics to collect data about the perceptions of social capital. For the purpose of this dissertation, social capital will be defined as the networks in life that can lead to upward mobility, that is, the ability to improve life circumstances. The researcher included administrators and faculty members. The tools were an adaptation of The 2006 Social Capital Community Survey made available through the Harvard Kennedy School (Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America, 2006b), an addendum to the survey that honed in on school specific topics, and a review of artifacts made available by the school. The administrators were surveyed in a face-to-face interview. Administrators completed both the researcher-created addendum and the community survey. Faculty members completed the community survey together in a group setting as a paper packet. Artifacts were collected through the main and guidance offices. The results of the study encourage continued research in the area of social capital and education. The results were remarkably close to each other and had interesting similarities to the national survey conducted in 2006. No definite conclusions can be made at this time