Building Social Capital Through Home-School Cooperation

The background to the study examines parental involvement in education as a form of social capital and focuses on how involvement may be developed through three dimensions of social capital: bonding, bridging, and linking. Both groups (students and parents) were surveyed using questionnaires. The data of two different studies have been used: a cross-sectional study carried out in sixty-five schools in Estonia and a study of a comprehensive school to introduce practical implementations of the findings. The results of the studies indicate a high degree of readiness for cooperation from both sides - parents and the school, even though their understanding of responsibilities slightly differ. Parents and teachers should have mutual power and influence regarding the child's education, although schools have to take the prime responsibility in organizing the cooperation process.