Asian Research Thesis Index

Abstract

This project aims to analyze the implications of social capital building at community levels through policy implementations for the development of education in Pakistan. The policy is envisaged to furnish its aims and objectives through establishing links between schools and communities in the form of Parent-Teacher-Councils. The councils are formal bodies embodying the essence of private and public partnership focusing upon providing better standard of education for all children. In order to paint a refined picture of the issue, multiple case study design is adopted to analyze data from three different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The cases are different with regards to socio-economic conditions, literacy rate, employment opportunities, sources of communications, nature and distribution of population and gender wise structure of the communities. The study extended to the three districts helps us understand the phenomenon in wider context. The data collected is composed of individual/group interviews along with personal observations in the field. Parents, teachers, PTC members, principals and students are selected for interviews from four different schools/communities in each district. PTC meetings are also observed coupled with studying the record of the councils. The study is taken as repercussion of synergy view of social capital, treated as a resource in obtaining Epstein’s six types of parental involvement. Each chapter is designed to revolve around this central proposition theoretically and caters for possible explanation in the prevailing situations. The study exhibits that introduction of PTC as a tool of social capital building largely failed to play a vital role in attracting community for improving the quality of education. Among many reasons, lack of government’s interest, poor socio-economic conditions and bureaucratic structures of school, are few of the important factors curtailing the outputs of the councils. However, the councils delivered encouragingly in some areas characterized by high literacy, sound economic conditions, gender based relationships and democratic attitude. Hence, it is concluded that PTC is a source of social capital building and can be more effective in achieving the targets of Epstein’s model in developing countries if hindrance in its way, as revealed above, are properly addressed.

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