Social capital outcomes: More than skills

A TAFE NSW research perspective

Stephen Black

Recent research projects

• • • • • 2005-6 NCVER ($55,000) Reframing adult literacy

and numeracy outcomes: A social capital perspective

2007-8 NCVER ($85,000) Literacy and numeracy

development in partnership: Social capital approaches

2005-6 DEST Innovative ($35,000) Community

volunteering

2007-8 DEST Innovative ($35,000) Diabetes

literacy

2006-7 Multicultural Ed Unit Seeding funding ($30,000) NESB students in TAFE

Social capital research

Features of the two NCVER projects:

• A three-way partnership between Northern Sydney Institute (Steve Black), Charles Darwin Uni (Prof Ian Falk) and James Cook Uni (Dr Jo Balatti) • Qualitative methodology based on a) semi-structured interviews with teachers and students b) action research

What is social capital?

What does social capital have to do with learning?

An informal definition

• Social capital has got to do with the ways that people connect with their community.

• It’s the relationships people have, the groups they belong to, the networks they link into, the contacts they’ve got. It’s about the trust they have in others. • It’s also how they interact with these other people – how they present themselves. This may be related to their confidence and to their skills.

A more formal definition

Social capital is ‘networks, together with shared norms, values and understandings which facilitate cooperation within or amongst groups’ (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, based on the OECD 2001 definition)

How are learning and social capital connected?

It’s a two-way relationship: Learning (not necessarily the documented outcomes of the course) can increase the social capital that people can access.

The social capital that people have access to can influence the kind of learning they do.

How do we know when social capital outcomes have occurred?

• The learners themselves can tell us as can their teachers, family or friends.

• What they tell us can be evidence of a change in the way they connect with existing groups or new groups. • We can map these changes on social capital frameworks such as those of the ABS.

Groupings

1 Network qualities (including norms and common purpose) 2 Network structure (including norms and common purpose) 3 Network

transactions

(including norms and common purpose) 4 Network types (including norms and common purpose)

Application of ABS Social Capital Framework Elements

Trust and trustworthiness Sense of efficacy Acceptance of diversity and inclusiveness Size Communication mode Power relationships Sharing support Sharing knowledge, information and introductions Bonding Bridging Linking

Indicators for the study

Does participation in adult literacy and numeracy courses result in 1a changes in trust levels? 1b changes in beliefs about personal influence on the student’s own life and that of others?

1c action to solve problems in the student’s own life or that of others?

1d changed beliefs and interaction with people who are different from the student?

2a change in the number and nature of attachments to existing and new networks?

2b change in the number or nature of the ways that the student keeps in touch with others in their networks?

2c change in the nature of memberships?

3a change in the support sought, received or given in the networks to which the student is attached?

3b change in the ways the student shares information and skills and can negotiate? 4a changes in the activities undertaken with the main groups with which they interact?

4b changes in the activities with groups that are different from the student?

4c changes in the links that the student has to institutions?

Main findings

Almost 80% of the students interviewed experienced social capital outcomes

Examples

• A 17-year-old boy now has his mother’s trust because she knows he spends his days at TAFE unlike previously when he was truanting from school (change in trust levels) • A 50-year-old woman originally from China can now make phone calls to institutions such as banks and the local council to lodge complaints or make enquiries (change in action to solve problems in one’s life).

• A 47-year-old Indigenous man has made new friends with people in the course and with whom he socialises out of class time (change in the number/nature of attachments to new networks).

• A 15-year-old boy is now prepared to help out at home in a reciprocal relationship with his parents whereas in the past, he resisted being told what to do and was hardly at home (change in the nature of memberships in networks e.g. power differential).

Two illustrative cases

• Bill, a 17-year-old student in a ‘youth’ program who made little progress in improving his literacy/numeracy skills but he did learn to accept and respect ‘authority figures’ (he hated teachers at school) and as a consequence he found part time work. In this case social capital outcomes lead to an important socio economic impact (getting a job).

• Amy, a Chinese born student with a teenager son, improved language skills from the literacy course enabled her to interact better with her son’s school. She can now write absence letters independently, attend parent/teacher meetings and negotiate for her son to receive English as Second Language assistance. In her case human capital skills (better English language skills) have led to social capital outcomes (relating better with teachers at her son’s school).

How does the way we teach have an effect on the social capital outcomes students may experience?

Networks with students The participant Network with teachers & students Networks with teachers

A ‘scan’ for partnerships between LLN providers and health agencies

• Research method – Reading Writing Hotline database • TAFE Institute/ACE contacts The key features of LLN/Health partnerships included: • • • The LLN provider took the first step Partnerships were informal The degree of ‘integration’ varied

Key features continued

• LLN provider ‘flexibility’ in timetabling and resources • Role conflict for LLN staff • Pedagogy varied but the philosophy was consistent • Social capital outcomes (bonding, linking) • Short term funding – the main impediment

Reflect on outcomes & consider modifications Cycle One Collect data through observation & informal feedback Reflect on outcomes & consider modifications Increasing social capital outcomes has been identified as the goal & mentoring as the intervention Plan traditional mentoring program Implement program Collect data through observation & informal feedback Change from pairs to group mentoring Implement program Cycle Two

(Adapted from Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988)

Action Research Project 1

• An inner Sydney medical centre for sex workers, IDUs and youth at risk • An Aboriginal ‘Health and Healing’ group • The LLN course part of a ‘one-stop’ shop

Pedagogy and social capital outcomes

• • Social capital outcomes for ‘marginalised’ people • • Bonding Linking Features of the classroom pedagogy • • • • • Co-operative learning style Respect and non-judgemental attitudes ‘Facilitated’ learning ‘Empowerment’ teacher philosophy Informal classroom atmosphere

Action Research Project 2

• The Muslim Women’s Association (MWA) • A three-way partnership – the TAFE College LLN, the Area Health Service, and the MWA • The health course – focus on healthy eating, exercise and stress management • The women – mainly Arabic speaking, mothers, some traditional (wearing the full hijab)

Pedagogy and social capital

• • • • • • • • Team teaching – women’s health and LLN teacher “Each week it’s a life of it’s own” Highly interactive pedagogy “It’s about empowering them” Emerging themes – relationships, domestic violence, divorce Bonding in the classroom Changes in the family – the role of fathers and sons Potential linking social capital

Being a VET researcher in TAFE: Some advantages

• • • • • Insights into VET practices Access to pedagogy Access to teachers and students Institutional trust NCVER wants to involve VET institutions in research

A VET researcher in TAFE NSW: Some questions

• • • • • • • Is research valued locally?

Does research generate a profit?

Are there support systems? (Does research equate with teaching? Are library services adequate?) Is research written into Institute strategic plans?

Do managers understand intellectual copyright?

Where can research findings be disseminated in TAFE NSW?

Where do VET researchers go for advice? (are there research ‘communities of practice’ in TAFE?)