Thriving Places' family meal and homework club: parents' experiences of social capital

Abstract

As the association between social capital and health has become better established over the last decade, it is a concept that is increasingly implemented as part of community programmes to tackle health inequalities. For example, the Thriving Places approach uses social capital as part of an assets-based approach to address community health inequalities in Glasgow. To this end, the aim of this study was to explore the concept of social capital in the context of Thriving Places’ family meal and homework club. The study sought to expand the currently limited body of qualitative literature on social capital in the UK.
Qualitative data was gathered using six semi-structured parent interviews and two participant observations. Iterative analysis revealed a number of significant themes that closely coincided with elements of social capital from the literature. This included voluntary association; the development of horizontal networks through bridging social capital and vertical networks through linking social capital; mutual trust between parents; participation; and community engagement. This dissertation discusses the research process and provides a detailed analysis of the results. It suggests how the results are relevant in the field of social capital and how the results might influence similar community programmes.