Social capital in a historic context of modernisation : its effects on choice-making in education

Abstract

This paper examines the socio-historic roots of social capital in Cyprus. Social capital is seen as a major resource that can explain the unequal pattern of choices regarding post secondary school destinations. The application of social capital to accomplish social goals (‘mesa’ in Greek) is an ‘institution’ that has historically developed in Cyprus since the Ottoman era. This development has cultivated an ‘ethos’ of legitimacy in practices involving the utilisation of social connections and networks to achieve social aims among contemporary Cypriots. The above takes place within the context of a ‘modernising’ society where traditional and modern perspectives of how social relations are perceived co-exist and often are sources of social tension. The data presented are drawn from an empirical investigation, which used a mixed method approach combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies in a complimentary manner. The findings of the empirical study indicate that social capital appears to act as a hidden mechanism of social selection in modern Cyprus allowing some students, to make far reaching and daring decisions, whereas at the same time ‘forcing’ others, to make ‘pragmatic’ choices, which often mean making compromises in their ambitions to achieve social success.