A Web of Relationships
The web of support that can open doors to academic, economic, and career success, so that all young people can reach their life goals.
Social Capital: A Web of Supportive Relationships
Social capital are the resources that arise from a web of relationships that young people can use as they pursue their life goals. The entire web of relationships– including peers, family members, teachers, and others– matters. Different relationships within the web can offer different types of resources and opportunities that may be valuable to a young person during different stages of their life or as they work towards different goals.
About Social Capital
Benefits of Social Capital
Young people who report higher levels of social capital including stronger and more diverse webs of support, report greater progress toward their education and career goals, more self-efficacy toward reaching their life goals, and a greater commitment to helping others reach their goals. Social capital not only leads to greater individual success among youth, but also contributes to a greater collective impact for our next generation of young people.
Youth with higher levels of social capital tend to report greater progress toward education and career goals, higher levels of self-efficacy, and a greater commitment to helping others (score 0-100) than youth with low or medium levels of social capital.
The Transformative Role of Social Capital
Social capital has helped young people reach their goals, check out their stories.
“I was worried about getting an entry level job,” James said. He didn’t want to feel alone, looked down upon, or like he didn’t belong. James’ youth program workers introduced him to successful financiers and entrepreneurs of color, knowing how important it is for youth to see themselves reflected in leadership positions and empower them to expand their possibilities for the future.
Reflecting on his time in the program, James said, “They believed in me. I never saw myself actually getting there, but the speakers who came in were proof people like me can and do make it to the top. It was really impactful.” With the support of his program, James prepared and submitted an application to the internship program of his dreams. “It was more than just a life skills class,” James said, “the people I met there really helped me make it happen.”
“As a first-generation college student, I had no idea what to expect. My parents couldn’t help me navigate financial aid and I was so afraid of taking on debt. I saw other kids at my high school already 3 steps ahead and I was just constantly trying to figure it all out myself.” Nico’s experience planning for college was a struggle before they connected with a youth organization dedicated to building social capital for first-generation college students.
“They helped me know who I needed to talk to to get what I needed, and not only that, they really listened to what I was interested in and I was surrounded by other students who understood what it’s like to be the first one in your family to go to college. Even though we all come from different backgrounds and walks of life, we still have something in common.” Nico exited the program feeling more confident and prepared to take on their first year of college.
Social capital at the intersection of practitioner wisdom, youth voice and developmental science
The Power of Social Capital
The Power of Social Capital is a summary of emerging research that highlights the importance of measuring social capital and its impact on young people.
Mentoring Relationships as Catalysts for Strengthening Youth Social Capital
Search Institute partnered with DREAM to unpack ways developmentally strong mentoring relationships are experienced by youth and how these relationships impact their lives including their social capital.
“It Was a Support Network System that Made Me Believe in Myself”
Search Institute partnered with six youth and young-adult serving organizations to better understand how social capital helps young people secure education and employment opportunities.
Organizations and Social Capital
Supporting youth in building and strengthening their social capital requires an intentional and inclusive focus on relationships that is fully integrated into what an organization or school already does. Schools and youth-serving organizations that do this work well are social capital promoting organizations.
In order to help organizations become promoters of social capital, we developed the Social Capital Framework. This framework identifies four core domains, or levers, that are essential on the pathway towards becoming a social capital promoting organization.
Related Resources on Web of Relationships
5 Steps for Building and Strengthening Student’s Networks
Learn More
Using the Web of Support Framework
CERES Institute’s Web of Support Framework is a tool designed for use by youth-serving professionals and by youth, themselves, to define and visualize current and potential supports in an interconnected web.
Cultivating Connections
A framework developed by Education Strategy Group that offers a roadmap for those looking to help students better recognize, build, and leverage networks and relationships, and more purposefully integrate social capital development into educational pathways.