Stability for Development,Development for Stability: The Relationship Between Regional Organizations and Social Cohesion Through the Lens of the EU and MERCOSUR

Strategies aiming to foster social cohesion seek to enhance predictability and trust among heterogeneous actors. Although undoubtedly nation-states remain the dominant context for examining social cohesion, in Europe and in South America, nation-states have formed regional organizations to support political stability and economic cooperation in a world increasingly shaped by political and economic forces beyond the reach of any single nation-state. The comparative extent to which the regional political bodies of the European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) impact social cohesion within and across member states relates to their capacity to engender reciprocal patterns of political stability and economic development in the region. This article examines the EU and MERCOSUR's stake in social cohesion and how these organizations impact social cohesion in their respective regions through the establishment of institutionalized standards and norms, the content of specific regional policies, and the processes that accompany institutional governance at the regional level. The article finds that the existence of collective support and trust in the institutions that enable these regional organizations to effectively create desired political and economic conditions has implications for the depth of these integration projects and their ability to foster social cohesion across a region.     

以教师培训迁移为基准的教师培训效果——基于社会资本的视角

作为新经济社会学前沿和有影响力的理论概念,社会资本强调互信互惠的人际关系对个人获得更大成就和社会更有效运作的积极意义。对教师培训效果的审视趋向从培训知识的获得转移到教学工作中的实际运用。以社会资本理论系统考量教师培训迁移,指出信任互惠有助于教师培训活动参与者之间的对话与互动,培训参与者的积极行动有助于形成可持续的教师培训系统,从而有的放矢地提高教师培训的效果并最终使跨越理论与实践鸿沟成为可能。     

以教师培训迁移为基准的教师培训效果——基于社会资本的视角

作为新经济社会学前沿和有影响力的理论概念,社会资本强调互信互惠的人际关系对个人获得更大成就和社会更有效运作的积极意义。对教师培训效果的审视趋向从培训知识的获得转移到教学工作中的实际运用。以社会资本理论系统考量教师培训迁移,指出信任互惠有助于教师培训活动参与者之间的对话与互动,培训参与;等的积极行动有助于形成可持续的教师培训系统,从而有的放矢地提高教师培训的效果并最终使跨越理论与实践鸿沟成为可能。     

The Ethics of Social Cohesion

With trust as its antecedent, social capital comprises the potential capacities of a people to prosper. Building on the presence of social capital, social cohesion involves the internalization of social ethics and constitutes the level of realized propensity among citizens to engage in virtuous behavior for the common good. This theory elaboration asserts that social cohesion is defined largely by the autonomy of the individual to do good across group dynamics and organizational boundaries. The degree to which they act in a way that is beneficent to society as a whole is the degree to which we could say they have been "cohered" to that society.     

Open admissions does not kill colleges

This article establishes an understanding of social cohesion in general and discusses organizations and activities that are known to promote social cohesion before introducing organizations that claim to work toward social cohesion as one of their main priorities. The Council of Europe's Directorate General of Social Cohesion represents a political organization seeking to promote social cohesion. The Jaboya Project and Field Band Foundation are social organizations with social cohesion as a priority. Although these organizations are likely to contribute to it, they cannot achieve social cohesion directly; rather, they work toward establishing conditions that are favorable to building social cohesion and anticipate the probable long-term effects of their work.     

Education,Equality and Social Cohesion: A distributional approach

Promoting social cohesion through education has re-emerged as an important policy objective in many countries during the past decade. But there is little clarity in policy discussions about what social cohesion means and how education may affect it. In this article we distinguish between social capital and societal cohesion and argue that education acts in differential ways on each. Using comparative, cross-country analysis, we develop a 'distributional model' which shows the relationship between equality of educational outcomes and various measures of social cohesion. In the final part of the article we discuss theories explaining the cross-country trends and variations in educational inequality and social inheritance in education, and argue that education system characteristics, such as degrees of 'comprehensiveness' in secondary schooling, may be an important factor in both. We conclude by arguing that policies to increase social cohesion through education must pay more attention to the reduction of educational equality than they currently do.     

Education and Social Cohesion: Recentering the Debate

Social capital theory has tended to treat social cohesion as a mere aggregation of individual and community-level characteristics, ignoring the long tradition of theory on social solidarity and social cohesion at the societal level. However, the key indicators of social capital-associational membership and social trust-do not covary cross-nationally, and societies rich in community-level social capital are not always cohesive societies. Social capital and societal cohesion are not necessarily the same thing, and education may have different effects on each. This article seeks to put the analysis of education and societal cohesion back in the center of the picture. We do this first through a critical review of some of the existing literature on education and social capital, which points to the limitations of individual-level analysis of what are fundamentally societal issues. Second, we outline some alternative models for understanding how education influences social cohesion in different societies, drawing on an analysis of some of the aggregated cross-national data on skills, income distribution, and various indicators of social cohesion. The argument suggests some causal mechanisms for the social impacts of education that are quite different from those that normally underpin arguments about human and social capital.     

Does decentralisation enhance a school’s role of promoting social cohesion? Bosnian school leaders’ perceptions of school governance

This study seeks to understand whether and how decentralised school governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) enhances the schools’ role of promoting social cohesion. This includes increasing “horizontal” trust among different ethnic groups and “vertical” trust between civilians and public institutes. The study examined secondary school leaders’ perceptions regarding school board influence on social cohesion policies and practices, their interactions with school board members, and their accountability to the school-based governing body. The results show that school leaders and school boards, supposedly representing the interests of local stakeholders, did not appear to be actively engaged in the deliberate process of promoting social cohesion. While school directors tended to view themselves as being independent from the school boards, ethnically diverse school boards provided important support to proactive school leaders for their inter-group activities. Given that the central level is not providing initiatives to promote social cohesion and that BiH citizens appear to generally support social cohesion, decentralised school governance has the potential to improve social trust from the bottom up. To promote participatory school governance, the study recommends that BiH school leaders should be provided with opportunities to re-examine and redefine their professional accountability and to assist local stakeholders to improve their involvement in school governance.     

What drives the quality of schools in Africa? Disentangling social capital and ethnic divisions

Two important lines of research have shaped our understanding of the ability of communities to engage in collective action. The first proposes ethnic division as a key determinant, with more ethnically-heterogeneous countries having worse economic performance and fewer public goods. The second focuses on social capital as a major determinant of the ability to engage in collective action. We expect trust among community members, a widely-used measure of social capital, to be an important and positive determinant of school quality.Our work here aims to disentangle the relative effects of ethnic fractionalization and social capital on school quality. We instrument both social capital and ethnic fractionalization by using historical information on the settlement patterns of ethnic groups in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our empirical strategy is implemented by combining four datasets, including district-level Afrobarometer data, covering 16 Sub-Saharan countries.We find a large positive effect of trust on practical aspects of schooling, such as maintaining buildings or providing textbooks. In sharp contrast, ethnic fractionalization is found to have a very limited effect, if any. We propose a simple model of public-good provision that explores a channel by which social capital and ethnic division may (or may not) affect the provision of local public goods such as schools.     

Action learning sets and social capital: ameliorating the burden of clergy isolation in one rural diocese

Rural clergy often lack colleagues and may struggle with isolation, especially if over-extended in multi-parish benefices. Theory suggests that this sense of isolation could be addressed by launching clergy action learning sets, which have the potential to establish a peer support network through the formation of social capital as a by-product of the pedagogical process. This case study looks at the effect of action learning set membership upon clergy involved in a new ministry development programme in one rural Church of England diocese. Markers of social capital (networks, norms and social trust) were found among set members, some of whom were prepared to draw on the new resource for assistance with problems, while others were ready to support such colleagues. Pre-existing support networks were one reason for clergy not intending to capitalize on the new links; another was the geographically dispersed set memberships. Geography may militate against exploiting social capital, but a distance of many miles between priest and trusted confidant can be advantageous. The study demonstrates that the notion that social capital formed through action learning will ameliorate isolation among some geographically scattered clergy is grounded not only in theory but also in practice.     

测量西部城乡居民的社会资本

本文以对西部城乡居民社会资本的测量为例,具体说明了如何在经验社会调查中测量复杂的社会概念。社会资本的定义有宏观和微观层次之分,因此在测量时必须根据不同层次的定义采取相应的测量方法。在调查中我们对微观社会资本的测量通过“位置生成”的“节日交往网络”,测量了个人的网络规模、网络密度和网络资源;而对宏观社会资本的测量则使用了信任量表和参与量表,测量了个人对制度、陌生人和熟人的信任,以及对社会组织和活动的参与情况。     

自我负责的课程文化与社会创新

社会创新是当前全球化背景下各国社会变迁和发展的主要动力,其运作机制包括自上而下的国家政府路径和自下而上的市民社会路径.这两种路径的良性运作都需要社会资本的增长和普遍信任的形成.自我负责的文化是普遍信任形成和社会资本总量增长的基础.针对我国传统课程文化中的问题和新课程实施过程中的遇到的困难,在教育的核心构件课程中贯彻自我负责的课程文化,将有助于普遍信任的形成和社会资本总量的增长,从而促进社会创新和发展.     

社会资本理论视角下的新农村建设

社会资本理论尽管还不够成熟，但是它拓展了经济学研究的视野，为社会主义新农村建设提供了新的视角。我国农村不仅缺乏物质资本、人力资本，更重要的是缺乏社会资本，主要表现为农村居民占有的社会资源水平低，农村缺乏现代社会信任，农村民间组织发育缓慢。在社会主义新农村建设中，要以培育组织型社会资本为突破口，通过农村文化建设，培育农村信任、团结和规范意识，同时要消除城乡间的制度障碍，扩大农村居民的社会网络和社会资源。     

高校德育社会资本生成存在的问题及对策分析

高校德育社会资本生成是社会资本被运用到具体德育活动而产生一定效益的前提。当前我国高校德育社会资本生成存在一系列问题,主要表现为高校德育主体生成社会资本的动力不足、质量不高,以及作为社会资本生成机制的社会信任缺失。针对存在的问题,有必要采取一定的措施促进我国高校德育社会资本的生成,主要包括：树立正确的社会资本生成目标、促进良好社会关系网络的生成、采取合适的信任建设策略、为高校德育争取较高的社会地位和较好的社会声望等。     

Literacy by Design,not by default: social capital’s role in literacy learning

This paper argues the significance of social capital in the literacy learning process and discusses the roles and effects of various elements of social capital, such as networks and trust. An illustrative case study shows how the knowledge and identity resources drawn on during learning interactions rely as much for their success on identity‐shifting as they do on skills and knowledge. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for learning and education, especially literacy education.     

论社会信任在社会生活中的作用

作为社会资本特定形式的社会信任,以社会资本的运作方式在社会生活中起着独特而积极的作用：1、创立与维护社会团结,整合社会秩序;2、实现社会控制。维护社会秩序与社会稳定;3、润滑社会交易与合作,促进人的发展与社会繁荣;4、抑制“机会主义行为”,避免“囚徒困境”现象。认识社会信任的这些作用,对于当今充分发挥社会信任在社会主义市场经济建设过程中的作用具有非常重要的现实意义。     

互惠和道德——试论社会资本研究的大致脉络

社会资本研究日渐成为多学科共同关注的领域。学界研究主要集中在对社会资本概念的理解、对其作用的认识以及在经验层面的运用上。社会资本研究的核心要素,诸如资源、信任、互惠、合作、规范和网络等,成为社会资本研究范式的共识,但诸多学者的侧重有所不同,因而学界对社会资本的理解显得较为凌乱。另外,学界对社会信任在社会资本中的位置,也难有一致的共识。笔者试图通过对目前已有的社会资本研究成果以及在其视角下信任研究的重要成果进行梳理,为探寻建立适合我国国情的社会资本研究范式作一点有益的思考。     

Measuring the Effectiveness of City and State Takeover as a School Reform Strategy

Social cohesion is understood as the social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from connections among individuals. When students attend higher education institutions, they go through a process of socialization, and it is vital to ensure that they acquire the core values that underpin the social cohesion. This article presents a preliminary understanding of how higher education institutions can influence social cohesion through curriculum content and the culture of their institutions, through fairness to students and faculty, and through procedures available for effective adjudication to members of the school community in order to achieve a consensus over what and how to teach. This article also presents a view on the role of higher education institutions in promoting social cohesion in local communities.     

Global Mobility and Rising Inequality: A Cross-National Study of Immigration,Poverty, and Social Cohesion

With globalization, the world has become more interconnected and interdependent, with people, capital, and ideas rapidly migrating across borders. Yet, along with greater global interdependence and increased diversity within societies, economic and social inequalities have deepened, making poverty one of the leading global problems. To lessen poverty around the world, better integrate immigrant groups into societies, and enhance stability, both societies and education systems are dedicated to fostering social cohesion as a key objective. Yet, still little is known about the extent to which immigration and socioeconomic status are predictive of social cohesion. Using cross-national data from the 2009 International Civic and Citizenship Study for 38 countries, this article further investigates the link between poverty, immigration, education, and social cohesion. Findings indicate that socioeconomic status is an important influence on social cohesion of immigrant students and that schools play an important role in fostering social cohesion.     

Social Capital, Collective Intelligence and Expansive Learning: Thinking through the Connections. Education and the Economy

The paper seeks to draw out the connections between social capital, collective intelligence and expansive learning, interrogating the terms for their progressive potential. It sets these concepts within their socio-economic context, one which asserts that the development of social capitalwill be a vehicle for economic regeneration and competitiveness as well as a mechanism for the generation of social inclusion and cohesion. It concludes by arguing that the debate is set within a context that accepts capitalist relations and that this places a limit on the progressive potential of social capital, collective intelligence and expansive learning.