Youth Transitions and Social Exclusion: Developments in Social Capital Theory

Abstract

A theoretical perspective of individualized systems of social capital is proposed to explain the relationship between the agency exercised by socially excluded young people and the contribution made by social 'structures' in shaping their school-to-work transitions. An individualized system of social capital is a dynamic, social, spatially, culturally, temporally and economically embedded group, network, or constellation of social relations, that has the young person at the core of the constellation and that provides authentic opportunities for everyday learning. This perspective recognizes that such systems of social relations both support and constrain individual actions and outcomes. It identifies the potential for some control by young people over their development and change but also accepts that the extent of individual development and change is heavily dependent on the way the individualized system of social capital evolves for each individual young person, and that this in turn is conditioned by the material and symbolic resources available to these networks or constellations. Different typologies of weak, strong, changing and fluid individualized systems of social capital are explored in relation to our empirical data and a range of theoretical perspectives, including socialization, individualization and underclass theses.