Social capital and modern education: hierarchy and inversion

Abstract

The article deals with the concept of «social capital». Various interpretations of this concept are analyzed. In particular, it is shown that social capital can be represented both as a social asset and as a personal asset of an individual. Social capital, considered as a purely social phenomenon, is described as the presence of public trust. Social capital, which is considered as a personal asset of the subject, is one of the factors determining its position in the society. The article identifies two types of personal social capital – active and passive. On the basis ofpersonal social capital, there is a social and communicative organizational principle in the social hierarchy. This is just one of many organizational principles that determine the position of a person in the social hierarchy. This principle, for all its importance, can not be considered as the main one. First, social capital is often important not in itself, but as a means to achieve some external goals. Secondly, if the subject seeks to take a higher social position on the basis of only social capital, it becomes a manifestation of populism and intrigue. This manifests an inversion in the social hierarchy-a state that threatens the destruction of the system. The acquisition and accumulation of personal social capital begins from childhood in the family. However, educational institutions play a decisive role in this issue. It is during the period of training that there is a very intensive accumulation of social capital. Therefore, the accumulation of personal social capital of students deserves special attention and separate study. Both ascertaining andformative experiments can be used for this purpose.