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student’s close friends drop out of high school, they are setting an example with their behavior
that may establish and/or reinforce norms about the importance that schooling should play in
adolescents’ lives.
Social ties between students and teachers might also be important in shaping how much
effort students exert. First, when students believe that their relationships with their teachers offer
support and encourage student effort, they are more likely to try hard in school. For example,
students are likely to work harder when they feel that their teachers are interested in them,
reward them for hard work, and acknowledge their academic contributions to the class. Second,
teacher expectations for students may also encourage them to try harder in school. Students may
respond with more effort when they realize that their teachers aspire for them to attend college.
Finally, teachers may be more effective in eliciting greater student effort if their students
perceive them to be legitimate authority figures. A teacher may draw on his/her authority to
convince a student to work hard because s/he believes that the teacher has his/her best interests in
mind.
Research Questions
To summarize, three main research questions will be explored in this research project.
First, is parent, peer, and teacher social capital related to how much effort students exert in
school? Second, how is student achievement related to (a) parent, peer, and teacher social
capital, and (b) student effort? Finally, does student effort explain any observed relationships
between parent, peer, and teacher social capital and student achievement? By answering these
questions, our knowledge of how social capital can improve student outcomes will be greatly
enhanced, and the research will provide an important springboard for future research in this area.
DATA
The analyses in this paper used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of
1988 (NELS:88). The NELS:88 data are well-suited for the questions raised here for several
reasons. First, the data are longitudinal, thereby allowing for analyses that can better deal with
Convention