This document discusses a study on how urban 4-H youth programs can increase social capital and promote social justice. It provides background on key concepts of social capital and outlines a conceptual framework. The study used mixed methods, including surveys and interviews, to understand how 4-H youth build social connections and how educators empower youth. Survey results showed youth felt they could make a difference in their community but did not feel 4-H strongly contributed to interactions with different groups. Interviews with educators aimed to understand their perspectives on using social capital within positive youth development programs. The conclusion discusses integrating culturally relevant experiences to equip youth with networks and tools for social change.

1. Social Capital
as a Catalyst
of Social
Justice:
An Urban 4-H Youth
Development Study
~Nia Imani Fields

2. “ Social capital is the
network of relationships
that increase one’s
access to privilege”
~Bourdieu, 1986

3. Social capital can be described as “the web of
cooperative relationships between members of a
community that allows them to act collectively to solve
problems together”.
~Chazdon, S., Allen, R. P., Horntvedt, J., Scheffert, D.R., 2013
http://www.socialcapitalinc.org/whatissocialcapital/

5. There is a common
misconception that
equal or equitable
education does in fact
exist in our country.
~Linda Darling-Hammond, 2010

6. There are also
inequities to
accessing social
capital.
Access to capital, “is not equally available
to all members of society of a given
community”.
~Calvert. M., Emery, M. & Kinsey, S., 2013

7. Positive
Youth
Development
Experiential
Learning
Culturally
Relevant
Pedagogy
Social
Capital
Can increase
Conceptual Framework

8. ResearchQuestions?? 1. How do youth increase social connections through urban 4-H
programs?
2. How do urban 4-H Educators explain their programs; and how do
they use their programs to empower 4-H participants?

9. Imagechef.com
Mixed Methods Part 1:
Survey
Explored basic trends among the group
and social capital subscales:
Bonding: Engagement, Network and Trust
Bridging: Trust, Engagement
Linking: Trust, Engagement, Barriers
Agency

10. In Maryland,
we explored
social capital in
an urban
context….

11. Maryland 4-H youth demonstrated remarkable capacity for social capital behavior
and attitudes.
o Youth felt that they could make a difference in their communities, supported in
their environments, trusted other people from their own circles and from other
demographic groups, had a sense of belonging to different social networks,
trusted institutions and government, and felt low barriers or obstacles to
community or 4-H participation.
o On average, youth did not feel as if 4-H was a contributor to their interaction
with different demographic or social groups, making a difference in their
neighborhood, and becoming involved with community or organizational events.
o Social capital scores were heavily influenced by youth participants’ age, length of
time in 4-H, their length of time living in the community, and ethnicity.

12. Mixed Methods Part 2:
An interview of 5-10 urban
Educators will be conducted
to better understand their
perspectives of urban 4-H
programs in relation to
social capital…..

13. “If we integrate culturally relevant
experiences that operationalize social
capital within positive youth development
programs– we stand the chance of
equipping youth with the tools and
networks necessary to think and do for
themselves”.
~Nia Imani Fields & Keith C. Nathaniel, Ed.D.

14. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory for the sociology of education (pp/ 241-258). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Calvert, M., Emery, M. & Kinsey, S. (2013). Issue Editors’ Notes. In M. Calvert, M. Emery, & S. Kinsey (Eds.), New directions for youth development (pp. 1-8). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Chazdon, S., Allen, R. P., Horntvedt, J., Scheffert, D.R. (2013). Reflecting (on) social capital: Development and validation of a community-based social capital assessment. Unpublished manuscript,
University of Minnesota Extension.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University
Fields, N. & Nathaniel, K. (in press). Our role in and responsibility toward social justice. Journal of Extension.
Nia Imani Fields
4-H Educator, Senior Agent
University of Maryland
Extension
Morgan State University, Urban
Educational Leadership
Doctoral Student
Nfields@umd.edu
Linkedin
UMD Bio