Pathways to Success in Higher Education

This volume surveys the role played by social connections when students make use of the expanding opportunities offered by contemporary tertiary education. We present our empirical results, which led us to the conclusion that the resources provided by higher education institutions may be termed social capital.

Students are influenced by their peer networks instead of the invisible hand of meritocracy. This statement by David Riesman is still true today. The volume analyses how students make use of social connections and the expanding opportunities offered by contemporary tertiary education. The results show that the resources provided by higher education institutions may be termed social capital, adding a new dimension to literature related to students and the institutional environment.

Autorentext

Gabriella Pusztai is Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Debrecen, Hungary. She is Head of the Doctoral School of Human Sciences and Director of the Center for Higher Education Research and Development, CHERD.

Inhalt

Contents: Social capital in educational research Context effect on student achievement Student selection and admission to bachelor and master degree programmes Indicators of student success in higher education Embeddedness in interpretive communities Impact and diversity of campus environments.