Social Capital and Children's Development: An Experimental Study

描述(由申请人提供)：拟议的研究将测试社会资本对儿童在小学早期的社会和认知发展水平和不平等的因果影响。这里的社会资本指的是嵌入在父母、老师和孩子的社交网络中的信任和共享期望。对于幼儿来说，社会资本主要通过他们与父母的关系运作，通过社会支持和社会控制机制促进发展。来自低收入拉丁裔家庭的儿童是这项研究的特别重点。研究设计是实验性的：社会资本将通过经过充分测试的家庭和学校共同干预(FAST)来操纵，该干预将通过密集的课后计划和为期两年的后续计划提高家长、教师和儿童的社会资本。这项研究将包括密尔沃基和圣安东尼奥的52所学校(约208名教师和3120名一年级学生及其家庭)，其中一半随机选择进行干预，另一半作为对照。实验设计将允许对社会资本的因果作用进行强有力的测试。该项目还将涉及一项执行研究，旨在阐明社会资本的产生和影响儿童发展的过程。这项拟议的研究是跨学科的，借鉴了社会学、心理学和经济学，它反映了一种跨越家庭和学校边界的生态视角。因此，这项研究响应了对早期发展的科学和生态学进行研究的呼吁。将评估儿童发展的关键方面，包括：(A)来自父母标准化行为评级的社交技能和问题行为；(B)后者加上教师评定的学习能力；以及(C)年级保留率、出勤率以及学校记录的三年级阅读和数学成绩。社会资本将通过对教师和家长的反复调查来衡量，这些调查涉及家长之间、家长与学校之间以及家长与孩子之间的社交网络、家长参与、信任和共同期望的程度。数据将用多水平统计模型进行分析，这些模型考虑到个人和学校层面的分析差异。拉美裔是美国人口中增长最快的部分，也是最不利的群体之一。拉美裔家庭经常感觉到与学校系统的距离感，这可能会给他们的孩子的学业和社会发展造成障碍，而这是公共卫生的重要方面。这项研究将对各种人口群体，特别是来自低收入拉丁裔家庭的儿童，增加社会资本对儿童发展的价值提供实用和科学的见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed research will test the causal effects of social capital on levels and inequalities of children's social and cognitive development during the early elementary years. Social capital here refers to trust and shared expectations embedded in social networks of parents, teachers, and children. For young children, social capital operates primarily through their relationships with their parents, enhancing development through mechanisms of social support and social control. Children from low-income Latino families are a special focus of the study. The research design is experimental: social capital will be manipulated through a well-tested intervention Families and Schools Together (FAST) that will enhance the social capital among parents, teachers, and children through an intensive after-school program and a 2-year follow-up program. The study will include 52 schools in Milwaukee and San Antonio (about 208 teachers and 3,120 first graders and their families), with half the schools randomly selected for the intervention and half serving as controls. The experimental design will permit a strong test of the causal role of social capital. The project will also involve an implementation study intended to illuminate the processes by which social capital is generated and affects child development. The proposed research is interdisciplinary, drawing on sociology, psychology, and economics,and it reflects an ecological perspective that crosses boundaries between families and schools. The study thus responds to the call for research on the Science and Ecology of Early Development. Key aspects of child development will be assessed, including (a) social skills and problem behavior from standardized behavioral ratings by parents; (b) the latter plus academic competence as rated by teachers; and (c) grade retention, attendance rates, and third-grade reading and mathematics scores from school records. Social capital will be measured with repeated surveys of teachers and parents that address the extent of social networks, parent involvement, trust, and shared expectations among parents, between parents and schools, and between parents and children. Data will be analyzed with multilevel statistical models that take account of variation at the individual and school levels of analysis.RELEVANCE. Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, and among the most disadvantaged. Latino families often perceive a sense of distance from the school system, which can create barriers to their children's academic and social development, important dimensions of public health. This study will yield practical as well as scientific insights into the value of increased social capital for development of children among a variety of demographic groups, and particularly those from low-income Latino families.