Abstract
This qualitative dissertation in practice study explores how social capital plays a role in leadership in relation to one’s capacity as a leader, success as a leader, and one’s promotion in the leadership hierarchy. The purpose of this study is to discover the actions schools could take to build social capital in female kindergarten through eighth grade students. The aim of this phenomenological study is to discover experiences or actions that led to the development of social capital in women who have reached the top levels of leadership in their professions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 women who were purposefully selected with the phenomenon examined the shared experience of women in top leadership positions as it related to factors in their lives that contributed to the development of social capital. The study’s findings indicate that women in the study had successfully navigated some obstacles to women’s leadership because of their social capital, which had been built through family support, participation in athletics, extra-curricular activities in schools, or through outside organizations, service leadership opportunities, role models, and mentors. Schools are often evaluated on their ability to develop the human capital of their students and have standards and curriculum developed to help improve individual student achievement. For schools to build social capital in kindergarten through eighth grade students, the creation of a school culture that takes a more comprehensive approach to social capital building is needed. Many schools already have activities that build social capital in students so a curriculum that takes a more focused look at social capital development would be an evolutionary change to current school practice. |Keywords: Social capital, human capital, C-suite, double bind, leadership/followership