Date received: 10/25/2019 / Date reviewed: 05/15/2020 / Date accepted: 11/14/2020

Introduction

The discussion of the topic focuses on the analysis of two large variables that are mutually correlated to explain school phenomena: social capital and academic performance. With regard to social capital, Coleman (1988) had already advanced some explanations that considered that the internal social capital (family capital) available in a family derives from a solid internal structure and has a significant influence on the school achievement of students. From this perspective, students who are part of a family with high levels of social capital are less likely to fail within the educational system and are more likely to achieve their goals than those who live under the roof of a family with poor social capital.

Approaches to the concept of school performance have a conceptual foundation with the paradigm of educational quality. Current trends in education systems (particularly in OECD member countries) to measure student achievement through international standards tests (standardized tests) are an indicator in the formation of criteria on reflected school performance in reading skills (Spanish language in the case of Mexico) and skills for the functional use of mathematics ¹. In this research, it was decided to consider as the dependent variable the most immediate analytical unit available to a classroom teacher to determine school performance; namely, the school grade (grade in the minutes).

Multiple investigations relate social capital to other phenomena and find various explanations to establish the causes and effects of these. Consequently, studies have been developed that explain how social capital affects the chances of dropping out of school, family and human capital, community development, the construction of democracies, among others (Coleman, 1988; Teachman; Kathleen & Karen; 1996 ; Teachman, Kathleen & Karen, 1997; Kliksberg, 1999; Putnam, 2000; World Bank, 2004).

This work aims to show how the internal social capital resources (family capital) possessed by the families of third-year high school students, in the city of Torreón, Mexico, affect their school performance. It is a quantitative, cross-sectional / correlational study. Pearson and Spearman correlation tests were performed and linear regression models were applied to identify predictor variables and to be able to explain the dependent variable: school performance (general grade point average). The study was conducted at Technical High School # 1 in the city of Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. Questionnaires were applied between May and June 2017. The sample was 130 students (n = 130) and it was applied exclusively to third-year students.

The first findings allow finding correlations between the variables of the student body, the family, the society. It was identified that there are significant correlations between school performance and the number of times students have changed schools; if they get help from their teachers to do homework; the perception that parents have about the school performance of students; school problems at the suspension level and trust in teachers. Results that coincide with other research carried out with students and their school achievements (Coleman, 1988; Wilson, 1994; Jonsson & Gahler, 1997; Hall, 1999; Kliksberg, 1999, 2000; Putnam, 2000; Aldridge, Halpern & Fitzpatrick, 2002).

Social capital: some fundamentals

Conceptualization of social capital

Two approaches can be used to locate social capital in some analytical dimension: the individual and the structural. In the first one, it is possible to identify definitions centered on skills, knowledge, values, attitudes and norms of the subject; in the second, it appeals to the possession of resources and the ways of managing them in favor of a group, class, or community through norms, networks and relationships. From both perspectives, the existence of capital² or various types of capital is assumed (Table 1).

How many types of capital are there?

Coleman distinguished the existence of three types of capital: physical capital, human capital, and social capital (Coleman, 1988: 100-101). The first, created to carry out changes in material things that facilitate production; the second created to generate changes in individuals, acquiring skills and abilities that make them capable of acting in different directions; and the third brings changes in relationships within people to facilitate action. Aldridge et al, (2002, p, 13) point out that capital can take a total of six forms:

physical capital, includes plants, machinery and other resources; natural capital, clean air, water and other natural resources; human capital, including knowledge, skills and competences; social capital [the author does not provide definition]; cultural capital, includes familiarity with the culture of society and the ability to understand and use language, and; financial capital, used to consolidate, acquire or invest in other forms of capital (Aldridge et al, 2002, p, 13).

According to the World Bank (cited by Kliksberg, 1999) there are four types of capital: natural capital; constituted by the natural resources that each country possesses; the capital built; that it is generated by the individual and that includes financial capital goods, infrastructure and others; human capital; determined by the degrees of education, health and nutrition of the population; and social capital. Faced with the multiple theoretical and institutional political proposals that suggest the existence of various types of capital and their usefulness, the unavoidable question is about what should actually be understood by social capital.

What is the social capital?

Returning to Coleman, the forerunner of the discussion on this concept in the heart of North American sociology, in Social capital in the creation of human capital, Coleman establishes the following:

If we start with a theory of rational action, in which each actor has control over certain resources and interests in certain resources and events, then social capital constitutes a particular type of resource available to an actor. Share capital is defined by its function [emphasis added]. It is not a single entity, but a variety of different entities, with two elements in common: all of them are formed from some aspect of social structures, and they facilitate certain actions of the actors -whether people or corporate actors- within the structure. (Coleman 1988, p, 98), [Own translation].

One of Coleman's purposes in that document was to present social capital as a resource of the person. The subject and his action are his main units of analysis. The subject's relationships determine how this resource is used and exploited. In this sense, he points out that “unlike other forms of capital, social capital is inherent in the structure of the relationships between the actor and between the actors” (Coleman 1988, p, 98). The value of the concept lies primarily in the fact that it identifies certain aspects of the social structure by their functions. Being the most significant function, providing the resources that individuals can use to achieve their interests. Social capital is a resource of the individual (Table 1).

The family is a structure to which the individual belongs and where social capital is present. Social capital takes shape in family relationships. Coleman points out that social capital represents a filter through which the parents' financial capital (income) and human capital (schooling) is transmitted to their children and is used by them to facilitate their school success or failure (reflected in desertion) and the lack or scarcity of social capital in the family have visible effects on the individual and highlights this phenomenon.

In this sense; social capital could be understood as: the socio-structural resources that constitute a capital asset for the individual and facilitate certain common actions of those who make up that structure.

On the other hand, the publication of the text Bowling Alone: the collapse and revival of American community (Putnam, 2000) unleashed a tendency among sociologists and social scientists to explore new interpretations about the cause and effect relationships of social phenomena, based on conceptual social capital. One of the aspirations of the reinventor of the social capital concept was to demonstrate that North American society is in decline, that new generations of individuals are poorly articulated with life in solidarity and that far from committing more to their fellow citizens, they are isolating themselves and consequently weakening. the social fabric. Indeed, and in the face of the social crisis derived from progressive disarticulation, social capital seems to constitute itself, from Putnam's perspective, as the substantive component for modern society to return to the basic principles of trust, reciprocity and solidarity.

In this study, Putnam considers that the idea that underlies the theory of social capital, the heart of it says, "is the value of social networks" (Putnam, 2000, p, 18). He points out that while physical capital refers to physical objects and human capital refers to properties of individuals, social capital refers to connections between individuals / social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trust that emerge from them. In this sense, he considers that the connections between individuals are important because of the norms (or rules) of conduct that sustain them. Networks, by definition, that involve mutual obligations and are far from being simple contacts (Table 1).

For Bourdieu (1985), social capital is the set of real or potential resources available to the members of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships. Social capital consists not only of networks and connections, but also of day-to-day contacts and associations with groups that, through the accumulation of exchanges, obligations and shared identities, provide both tangible and / or potential support and access to resources. important and valued. The total social capital will then depend on the extension of the network of links that can be mobilized and the total economic, cultural or symbolic capital that each of the subjects possesses.

In addition to the interest of social scientists in exploring the concept, international political organizations found it useful to appropriate it. The World Bank (2005) considers that social capital refers to the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society's social interactions. Consider that social capital: it is not just the sum of the institutions that underpin a society, but the "glue" that unites them. In short, whatever the dimension of analysis (individual or structural) or the perspective adopted (academic or political), the existence of various types of capital is assumed.

Benefits derived from the existence of Social Capital

The concept of social capital has been used to explain various phenomena and / or justify their existence. Diverse investigations expose evidences on the existence of some relation between this concept and other social phenomena such as the desertion and the scholastic performance; decrease in mortality rates, greater social participation, greater social trust, altruism, local and regional development; culture and many others (Coleman, 1988; Teachman et al, 1996; 1997; Kliksberg, 1999; Putnam, 2000; World Bank, 2004 ³.
Schooling / Social Trust / Community Development.

Some studies indicate that the schooling of individuals is associated with higher levels of social capital (Hall, 1999; Putnam, 2000), that both schools and the family play an important role in creating social norms and ties. With each year of schooling, individuals are more engaged in social life, their networks expand and become more diverse; at the same time that they show more confidence towards other individuals. According to these results, high levels of schooling are associated with a strong growth in social trust and community commitment; that is, with greater social capital.

There are other studies that see the “need” for a strong social capital to exist within communities for there to be true economic development (Kliksberg, 1999). Social capital, manifested in norms and networks of civic engagement, appears to be a prerequisite for economic development, as well as for effective government (Putnam, 1993). Social cohesion becomes an essential component for societies to prosper economically and for development to be sustainable (World Bank, 2005).
Family relationships / Social networks / School success

Family relationships are linked to school achievement. Kliksberg (2000) points out that 60% of the differences in school performance are linked to the educational climate of the home, its socioeconomic level, housing infrastructure and type of family. She also points out that basic aspects of the family structure have a strong influence on educational results; likewise, the degree of organization of the family nucleus, the cultural capital of the parents, the level of dedication to follow-up on the children's studies and the permanent support or encouragement. According to Kliksberg, as the educational climate of the home improves, the percentage of laggards decreases.

Continuing with the analysis of the family, divorce also seems to be associated with lower levels of generalized trust, which translates into lower levels of social capital (Hall, 1999). According to Hall, social capital tends to be lower for children in single-parent families. Single parents tend to insert into smaller social networks, partly as a result of residential mobility and the family that has been affected.

In the analysis of this same variable, Jonsson and Gahler (1997) present results that show that children who come from divorced parents show lower educational performance. It is considered that there is a loss of social and family resources in relation to those that the child has from a stable family. In this sense, another study (Wilson, 1994) indicates that children who live with only one parent are twice as likely to be expelled or suspended from school, to suffer emotional or behavioral problems and to have difficulties with their peers.

Therefore, it is observed that there is a strong association between the levels of social capital (indicated by networks, community participation, social trust, strength of family ties, others) and the school achievements of infants. Studies indicate that the causal direction between variables starts from social capital and affects educational attainment and vice versa, from educational attainment (literacy / schooling) to social capital.

Method

The study variables

Family social capital⁴. Family capital has been defined as those physical, economic, social and cultural resources available to the subject that belongs to a family with a specific structure in a particular context, which exists and takes shape in family relationships.

School performance⁵. School performance was determined by the grade point average of third year high school students. That is, having added the qualifications of each two-month period and having obtained the average.

Study design

It is a quantitative study: cross-sectional / correlational. Pearson and Spearman correlation tests were performed; and linear regression models were applied to identify predictor variables to explain the dependent variable: school performance.

It is Transversal since it was carried out in a single moment and in a single time (Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., & Baptista Lucio, P., 1991). A single measurement of the variables was made to recognize their status and level at that time. It is correlational since it was necessary to establish correlations between the independent variables and seek explanations for the phenomenon of school performance. Derived from the correlations, a regression model was run and said model reinforced the existence of the correlations between independent variables and the dependent variable. The existence of collinearity between the independent variables was established.

The usefulness and purpose of this study is to know how school performance can behave, knowing the behavior of the social capital of families that have their sons and daughters with current enrollment in the analyzed secondary school.

The universe and the show

The study was conducted at Technical High School # 1 in the city of Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. The questionnaires were applied between the months of May and June 2017. The questionnaires were applied solely and exclusively to third-year students. The total number of students enrolled in that grade was 228 (N = 228). The sample used was probabilistic ⁶.The sample consisted of 130 students (n = 130), which was calculated as follows⁷:

Procedures

The grades of the students were obtained in the bimesters taken up to the date in which the questionnaires were applied. The values that were captured are those that the teaching staff recorded in their bimonthly evaluation minutes⁸. The grades for each two-month period were added and the average was obtained. The transcripts are constituted by the qualification of the subjects of Spanish, mathematics, natural sciences, geography, history, civics and ethics, physical education and artistic education. The grades are determined by decimal numbers, that is, they fluctuate between a value of 5 to a value of 10. The grade of 5 being failing, 6 the minimum passing grade and 10 the maximum grade for school performance.

Results

Inferential statistics results are presented. Spearman and Pearson correlation tests were established. Which variables could enter the model were identified. A regression model was applied. In each block, all and only the correlated variables were entered (under the method: enter). The regression model applied to the dependent variable: general grade average was analyzed.

Regression model. Dependent variable: Overall grade point average

In table 2, it is observed that the total amount of the R² value (R squared) between the dependent variable (general grade average) and what is explained by the independent variables is .693. This means three things: (1) The regression model fits the data, (2) the regression model is able to reduce the prediction error of the dependent variable by 69.3% (value of R²) and, (3) there is a linear relationship between the variables. In other words, it means that the correlation between the dependent variable and the independent variables is still preserved and that these strongly influence the school performance (general grade point average) of the secondary school student.

Regarding the analysis of variance (ANOVA), Table 3 shows the F value (8,760). It also shows that there is significance between the dependent variable and the independent variables (.000); which confirms in the first instance the linear relationship already indicated in the summary of the model. It also means that: (1) there is a significant linear relationship between the dependent variable (general grade average) and the independent variables and (2) that there is collinearity between the predictor variables.

The correlation matrix (Table 4) provides evidence that supports what has been pointed out so far. It is observed in the levels of significance (sig.) Of the multiple independent variables that influence or directly affect the general average of grades (dependent variable) and are constituted as predictor variables.

Discussion and Conclusions

Making a synthesis of the existing correlations, from the review of the matrix, it can be said that the student's school performance will be affected by:

• School mobility ⁹ . The number of times the subject has changed schools due to school or external factors (change of residence, failure, misconduct, parental decision, other). Changing schools affects school performance.
• Use of technologies. Access to a computer. The greater the number of options for accessing a computer (own, borrowed, rented), the better the school performance.
• Teacher help. If the student receives extra help from one of his teachers to carry out his schoolwork. If the teachers help the students more, they will have better school performance.
• Type of union of the couple. If the couple are married, in common union, or if the mother or father of the student are separated or divorced (there is no partner), it will affect school performance.
• Perception of school performance. The positive perception of school performance. The more positive the perception of school performance by parents about their children, the better the school performance.
• Family relationships. Quality of family relationships. Better family relationships raise school performance.
• School problems. The index of school problems permeated in the subject (failed, suspended, some illiterate relative, others). The greater the number of existing problems, the lower the performance.
• Family dynamics for well-being. Intensity of participation. The less participation of the mother helping in the well-being tasks of the student (preparing food), the lower the performance.
• Trust in the teaching staff. Intensity of trust in teachers. Greater confidence in teachers, higher school performance.

The variables already explained one by one can be established under three macro variables (table 4) and allow generating general conclusions from the analysis of the correlation matrix:

1. Student body. High school students who have changed schools the most number of times are at risk of having their school performance adversely affected. Your GPA. Linked to this, two variables that positively affect their school performance are: the use of computers and the help of teachers to do homework. In the case of the use of computers, the way in which the student appropriates its services is not relevant in the sense that it may be their own, rented in an internet café or provided by a family member. At the same time, if students receive help from a teacher, extracurricular learning conditions are generated that make it possible for students to improve their school performance.
2. Students -Family. The composition of the family is related to the quality of the relationships between its members and the intensity of the school problems experienced by the students. Likewise, the perception of better school performance of the young person favors the participation of the mother in well-being activities in favor of the student, being the preparation of food one of them. Better family relationships, better perception of school performance, greater participation, are variables that positively affect school performance.
3. Family -Society. Trust is a variable that constitutes social capital, social capital is weakened with mistrust. This non-trust relationship affects the subject's school performance.

Conclusions

Student variables. The findings of this research coincide with the findings presented by research carried out to identify the causes of poor school achievement. In Social capital in the creation of human capital, Coleman (1988) considered the existence of factors external to the family that are part of the family's social capital and that directly affect the student's school trajectory. In this sense, he considered that the number of times the student changed home (implying a change of school), most favored school dropout. In this research, the school mobility variable has been identified as a predictor of school performance.

Student-family variables. In this research, it was found that the marital situation (no partner, common law union, married) is a predictor variable of school performance. It agrees with the findings of Hall (1999) who points out that single parents (single-parent families) tend to have lower social capital. They build smaller social networks. According to the author, a variable that explains this is residential mobility. Like Coleman (1988), negative effects are attributed to the variable mobility. Coleman points to school dropouts; Hall notes weak social capital. The findings of this research also coincide with Jonsson and Gahler (1997) who gave evidence that indicates children who come from divorced parents and show lower educational performance. Findings and conclusions valid and applicable to secondary school students in the city of Torreón, Mexico.

On the other hand, Kliksberg (2000) states that as the educational climate in a family improves, the percentage of school failure decreases. A large percentage of the differences in school performance are linked to the educational climate of the home. Likewise, the perception of parents about their children's school achievement. As can be seen, parents who have a better perception of their children's school performance, achieve that they have better school performance. The correlation matrix shows that family relationships, the mother's participation in the work of preparing food for her children, directly affect the child's school performance (educational climate of the student).

Among the predictive variables that explain the school average, it was identified that they are correlated with the composition of the family, with the quality of the relationships between its members and with existing school problems. In this sense, the previous review of studies (Wilson, 1994) indicated that children living with only one parent are twice as likely to be expelled or suspended from school.

Family-society variables. In another dimension of analysis, at the family level, the findings of this research show that students who belong to families lacking social trust, (who do not trust the teachers), weaken their social capital. Poor social capital (characterized by mistrust) and weak family capital affect the school performance of the high school youth.

At the collective level, schools, like the family, play an important role in creating norms and social ties. What Hall (1999) and Putnam (2000) refer about the correlation between social capital and family was confirmed. Individuals are more engaged in social life, their networks spread and become more diverse; at the same time that they demonstrate more trust in other individuals. According to these authors, high levels of schooling are associated with a strong growth in social trust and community commitment; that is, with greater social capital.

Likewise, relationships within the family (quality relationships), especially those with intimate ties, create trust and cooperative behaviors outside the immediate family circle and throughout the individual's life. The correlation matrix shows that the family relationships variable is a predictor for determining school performance.

Final thoughts

The findings found have the limitation of being valid only for high school students and in the urban context of northern Mexico. However, this research leaves an open door for future research that can investigate other social contexts or other school levels, and generate comparative studies that support a general hypothesis about the school performance of secondary school students and its relationship with school mobility. family relationships, trust towards teachers, among other variables. Finally, the conclusions of the article will be presented in a final section and then the main conclusions. Where appropriate, limitations and proposals for continuity will be included.

Thanks

The exposed results are part of the research project: “Educational quality, social capital and learning environments. Explanation of educational achievements in high school students in the city of Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico”. Institutional project registered in the research and postgraduate coordination of the Autonomous University of Coahuila (Mexico).

¹As of 2015, the Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico (SEP) and the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education (INEE), established the National Plan for the Evaluation of Learning (PLANEA). The plan replaced the National Assessments of Academic Achievement in Schools (ENLACE) and EXCALE. PLANEA works under the same evaluation principles used by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the application of international standards tests (standardized tests, PISA) and assesses the achievement of learning in the areas of reading comprehension and math.

²The root of the capital concept is in economic theory. According to the dictionary of social sciences, capital is defined as: “an accumulation of merchandise or of abundance used for the production of other goods and services, rather than for immediate or personal use. Capital is central to a capitalist economic system ”(Drislane and Parkinson 2010), [own translation].

³Alejandro Portes (1998, p. 2), makes a severe criticism of the concept pointing out that it has been adopted and considered as the "cure all" of diseases that affect society.

⁴With this definition, it is considered that the subject has different resources and forms of association to put into practice their abilities and possessions; they are reflected in the functioning of family and school life. It is assumed that the individual is aware of his action. The consequences of the action and the set of actions carried out by the subject within social spaces are expected to have positive or negative effects (table 1).

⁵Academic performance refers to the student's level of knowledge measured by an evaluation test (Mesanza, 1983, p. 1234; Canda, 2002, p. 287). In this work, performance in Spanish was measured by grade point average. Grade concentrated in the teacher's official list and downloaded onto the student's report card (Leal, 1994; Contreras, 1997).

⁶According to Hernández, et al. (1991, p. 213), this type of study is where an association is made between variables, the results of which will serve as information to make political decisions that will affect a population. They are achieved through survey research and definitely through a probabilistic sample, designed in such a way that the data can be generalized to the population with an accurate estimate of the error that could be committed when making such generalizations.

⁷The reference formula for the calculation of the sample derives from Aguilar-Barojas (2005, p. 336).

⁸School grades are the quantitative or qualitative grades or expressions with which the level of school performance of students is valued or measured (Mesanza, 1983, p, 212).

⁹According to Zamora and Moforte (2013, p, 49), school mobility is understood as “the withdrawal of the student from their high school or school and their transfer to another. It can be forced by the establishment, but it can also be voluntary. Forced disengagement is usually presented as expulsion or cancellation of enrollment due to economic, academic, or behavioral problems; while voluntary retirement corresponds to an autonomous decision of the family and can respond to multiple situations: dissatisfaction with the establishment, change of address, others."

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