Tom Schuller

Bio: Tom Schuller is an academic researcher from University of Edinburgh. The author has contributed to research in topics: Lifelong learning & Adult education. The author has an hindex of 16, co-authored 35 publications receiving 1933 citations.

Social capital : critical perspectives

Abstract: 1 Social capital: a review and critique 2 Civil society and democratic renewal 3 Social capital, the economy and education in historical perspective 4 Economic, social capital and the colonization of the social sciences 5 Socialising social capital: identity, the transition to work and economic development 6 Social capital, innovation and competitiveness 7 Refugees and social capital theory: social capital and social integration 8 Social capital trumping class and cultural capital? Engagement with school among immigrant youth 9 Social capital, schools and exclusions 10 Social capital and health: contextualizing health promotion within local community networks 11 Local social capital: making it work on the ground 12 Social capital and associational life 13 Human capital, social capital and collective intelligence 14 Social capital and human capital revisited

The Benefits of Learning: The Impact of Education on Health, Family Life and Social Capital

Abstract: Part 1: Background and Approach 1. Studying Benefits 2. Three Capitals: A Framework Part 2: Themes and Case Studies 3. The Impacts of Learning on Well-being, Mental Health and Effective Coping 4. Mental Health and Well-being Throughout the Lifecourse 5. Family Life and Learning: Emergent Themes 6. Family life illustrated: transitions, responsibilities and attitudes 7. 'A continuous effort of sociability': Learning and Social Capital in Adult Life 8. Lifelong Learning and Civic Participation: Inclusion, Exclusion and Community Part 2: Drawing Together 9. The Benefits of Adult Learning: Quantitative Insights 10. Reappraising Benefits

Social capital, human capital and the learning society

Abstract: (1998). Social capital, human capital and the learning society. International Journal of Lifelong Education: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 226-235.

The Changing University

Abstract: The changing university? A sketchmap with coda a 30-year perspective the view from further education less control and more vocationalism - the Australian and New Zealand experience future patterns of teaching and learning increasing equity in higher education strategies and lessons from international experience changing leadership in universities evolving roles and responsibilities - the university in Africa from the collegial academy to corporate enterprise - the changing cultures of universities pay as you learn? Students in the changing university changing the culture of scholarship to the culture of teaching - an American perspective funding a changing system thinking European - is British higher education out of step? funding, access and teaching - the Canadian experience of a mass system of higher education the social and political vocation of the university in the global age.

Learning, continuity and change in adult life

Abstract: This report presents results from extensive fieldwork carried out by the Wider Benefits of Learning research team. It presents an original analytical framework developed specifically for this study, combined with empirical results from 140 in-depth biographical interviews in three different areas of England. The interviews explore the way learning affects people’s health and well-being; their family lives; and their engagement in civic activity. The report addresses these effects at both an individual and collective level. It concludes with a set of significant policy implications.

Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide

Abstract: Part I. Understanding Secularization: 1. The secularization debate 2. Measuring secularization 3. Comparing secularization worldwide Part II. Case Studies of Religion and Politics: 4. The puzzle of secularization in the United States and Western Europe 5. A religious revival in post-communist Europe? 6. Religion and politics in the Muslim world Part III. The Consequences of Secularization: 7. Religion, the Protestant ethic, and moral values 8. Religious organizations and social capital 9. Religious parties and electoral behavior Part IV. Conclusions: 10. Secularization and its consequences 11. Re-examining the theory of existential security 12. Re-examining evidence for the security thesis.

Health by association? Social capital, social theory, and the political economy of public health

Abstract: Three perspectives on the efficacy of social capital have been explored in the public health literature. A "social support" perspective argues that informal networks are central to objective and subjective welfare; an "inequality" thesis posits that widening economic disparities have eroded citizens' sense of social justice and inclusion, which in turn has led to heightened anxiety and compromised rising life expectancies; a "political economy" approach sees the primary determinant of poor health outcomes as the socially and politically mediated exclusion from material resources. A more comprehensive but grounded theory of social capital is presented that develops a distinction between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. It is argued that this framework helps to reconcile these three perspectives, incorporating a broader reading of history, politics, and the empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms connecting types of network structure and state-society relations to public health outcomes.

An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments

Abstract: The instructional technology community is in the midst of a philosophical shift from a behaviorist to a constructivist framework, a move that may begin to address the growing rift between formal school learning and real-life learning. One theory of learning that has the capacity to promote authentic learning is that of situated learning.

Understanding adaptation: What can social capital offer assessments of adaptive capacity?

Abstract: The burgeoning interest in social capital within the climate change community represents a welcome move towards a concern for the behavioural elements of adaptive action and capacity. In this paper the case is put forward for a critical engagement with social capital. There is need for an open debate on the conceptual and analytical traps and opportunities that social capital presents. The paper contrasts three schools of thought on social capital and uses a social capital lens to map out current and future areas for research on adaptation to climate change. It identifies opportunities for using social capital to research adaptive capacity and action within communities of place and communities of practice.