Social Capital and Post-Secondary Decision-Making Alignment for Low-Income Students

Rod Missaghian
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Rod Missaghian: Department of Sociology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: How is post-secondary decision-making influenced by the types of social capital students access? This study draws from interviews with 30 students in a low-income neighbourhood to examine who they turn to for post-secondary advice during the application process. Interactions with different ties and their influence on decision-making alignment, misalignment or uncertainty are explored. I find that students who report relying more on bonding (family and friends) social capital over (bridging) ties with school personnel demonstrate more misalignment in decision-making. In contrast, those who rely more on ties with school personnel exhibit more decision-making alignment. Many students whose proposed choices demonstrated alignment also lacked overall ‘fit’ and had unrealistic aspirations, except for a select few who reported close and consistent relationships with institutional agents. These findings contribute to the social capital literature examining the potential of institutional agents to help low-income students circumvent social stratification processes.

Keywords: social capital; decision-making; alignment; post-secondary (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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