SOCIAL CAPITAL AND DISPARITIES IN CANADIAN YOUTH’S MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT - tested using Canadian PISA 1999 data

Oct 15, 2026

Social Capital and Disparities in Canadian Youth’s Mathematics Achievement investigates how family and school contexts shape disparities in Canadian youths’ mathematics outcomes. Using hierarchical linear analysis, the study tests assumptions derived from social capital theory with Canadian data from the 1999 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Results show that many family–school contextualized effects are not statistically significant, indicating a need to refine how social capital is conceptualized and measured, while links between family structure and certain school social and human capital measures remain significant.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time1 h 26 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Purpose and theoretical framework

Methods

Data source and hierarchical linear analysis

Findings

Family–school contextual effects

Family structure links to school social and human capital

Implications for the similarity hypothesis

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND DISPARITIES IN CANADIAN YOUTH’S MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT Cherylynn Bassani University of British Columbia This article examines the influence of youth’s family and school contexts to understand disparities in Canadian youth’s mathematics achievement. Using hierarchical linear analysis, some of the main assumptions of social capital theory are tested using the Canadian data from the1999 Programme for International Student Assessment. Findings revealed that many family‐school contextualized effects were not significant, suggesting that researchers need to look at the conceptualization andoperationalization of social capital. Relationships between family structure and some measures of school social and human capital in schools were, however, found to be significant. Results suggest that the similarity hypothesis needs to be further analyzed and perhaps integrated into social capital theory. Key words: family, school, PISA, booster effect, double jeopardy effect, mitigating effect Dans cet article, l’auteure analyse les influences des contextes familiaux et scolaires dans lesquels les jeunes évoluent en vue de comprendre comment ces contextes créentdes disparités dans les résultats qu’ils obtiennent en mathématiques. Utilisant des données canadiennes tirées du Programme international pour le suivi des acquis des élèves (PISA) de 1999, l’auteure a testé ses hypothèses à l’aide d’une analyse linéaire hiérarchique. Ses résultats révèlent qu’un grand nombre des effets contextualisésfamiliaux et scolaires n’étaient pas statistiquement significatifs, ce qui donne à penser que les chercheurs doivent se pencher sur la conceptualisation et l’opérationalisation du capital social. Certaines relations entre la structure familiale et diverses mesures du capital social et humain dans les écoles se sont toutefois avérées significatives. Les résultats semblent indiquer que l’hypothèse de similarité a besoin d’être analyséedavantage et peut‐être intégrée dans la théorie du capital social. Mots clés : famille, école, PISA, effet stimulant, effet double obstacle, effet atténuant _____________________________ CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 31, 3 (2008): 727‐760 Over the past several decades, much research has examined how family and school environments interact to influence youths (e.g., Coleman et al, 1966; Parcel & Dufur, 2001), although only in recent decades have researchers gained the ability to model such complex relations (Willms & Raudenbush, 1989) . The combination of advances in statistical analyses that permit hierarchical linear modeling and the development of longitudinal data sets to collect contextual information from both families and schools, in addition to youth’s academic achievement, provides rich resources from which researchers can better understand the interrelated effects of families and schools to explain disparities in youth’s academic achievement. Within the family, the extant literature documents the role that context has in understanding disparities in youth’s academic performance and general well‐being: cultural (e.g., De Graff, DeGraff, & Kraaykamp, 2000; Dumais, 2002; Kalmijin & Kraaykamp, 1996; Lareau, 1987); financial (e.g., Bali & Alvarez, 2003; Caldas & Bankston, 1998); human (e.g., Joshi, 1995; O’Brien, Kopala, & Martinezpons, 1999; Parcel, Nicholl, & Dufur, 1996; Willms, 2002a, 2002b); material/physical (Guzman, Hampden‐Thompson, & Lippman, 2003; Reynolds & Walberg, 1992; Wilkins & Ma, 2002; Willms & Somers, 2001); and social capital (Coleman, 1987, 1988; Guzman et al., 2003; Parcel et al., 1996) . A smaller, yet still abundant literature has examined how these forms of capital in the school context shape youth’s achievement (e.g., Desimone, 1999; Frempong & Willms, 2002; Morgan & Sorensen, 1999; Teachman, Paasch,& Carver, 1997) . Much of this research has supported the notion that increased capital (in either families or schools) positively influences youth’s achievement levels

FAQs

What does the article aim to explain about Canadian youth’s math achievement?

It examines how youth’s family and school contexts influence disparities in mathematics achievement in Canadian youth.

How does the study test social capital theory?

It uses hierarchical linear analysis and tests assumptions of social capital theory using Canadian data from PISA 1999.

What are the key results regarding family–school contextual effects?

Many family–school contextualized effects are not statistically significant, suggesting researchers should reconsider how social capital is conceptualized and operationalized.

Oct 15, 2026

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