Pakistan Research Repository Home
 

Title of Thesis
A STUDY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AS AN ELEMENT AFFECTING THE SOCIAL CAPITAL OF THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN
Author(s)
Hina Ashraf
Institute/University/Department Details
Faculty of Advanced Integrated Studies and Research/ National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad
Session
2006
Subject
English
Number of Pages
237
Keywords (Extracted from title, table of contents and abstract of thesis)
english language learning, social capital, habitus, education, schooling, knowledge management

Abstract
This research has been a means to look into Pakistani society and to explore how social capital is being generated through schools. The main inspiration for this work was French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu's research on language and the creation of social capital. Bourdieu (1992) has used the term habitus to describe certain dispositions which incline individuals to act in certain ways - ways that are explicitly articulated in language. He has also used it as a tool to identify the social 'space of individuals in which a piece of language occurs and embraces the whole activity of the speaker or participant in a setting' (1971).

This research aimed to find out how social capital is structured and how is it being affected through education in Pakistani society; to explore how parental perception of social capital coincides with the conceptualization of social capital; and to investigate how the language of education in schools is seen as influencing the formation of social capital.

The correlation between social capital, education and the language of schooling was investigated through a detailed library research. The theoretical analysis was then transferred to a questionnaire which was administered on parents of secondary school children to find out their perceptions about the medium of education they chose for their children.

The research was carried out in Karachi. The questionnaire was administered to parents of children in the final two years of secondary education, aged 14-16 years. Twelve students were selected at random from each single-sex and 24 (12 girls and 12 boys) from each co-ed school. Half the students were asked to have the questionnaire filled in at home by their mother and half by their father. There was a 100% response rate though of course the use of pupils as intermediaries is open to challenge. The questionnaire was translated into Urdu for the convenience of parents.

The scale helped to validate the three main dimensions of social capital (structural, relational and cognitive) and to identify which dimension was being affected through schooling more.

The following conclusions were drawn from the data collected:

1. Social capital created in schools affects about 10% of the habitus of individuals.

2. Secondary schools in Pakistan are perceived by parents as a means to build structural and relational social capital more than cognitive social capital.

3. Though Urdu is the national language, there are no Urdu medium schools in the metropolitan city of Karachi in the high-cost profit category.

4. Language of instruction has a stronger effect on social capital than the gender of schooling. The medium of education significantly influences the social capital of individuals in Pakistan.
Download Full Thesis
42754.52 KB
S. No. Chapter Title of the Chapters Page Size (KB)
1 0 Contents
1701.88 KB
2 1 Statement Of Problem 1
2834.28 KB
  1.1 Language and Society 1
  1.2 Significance of the Study 3
  1.3 Objectives of the Study 5
  1.4 The Research Strategy and Limitations 5
  1.5 The Nature of Social Capital 6
  1.6 The Relevance of Social Capital as a Concept in Pakistan 10
  1.7 The Structure of the Thesis 11
3 2 Introduction To The Theory Of Social Capital 18
2682.23 KB
  2.1 Social Capital 18
  2.2 Definitions 20
  2.3 Perspectives 22
  2.4 Determinants of Social Capital 26
  2.5 The Importance of Social Capital 27
  2.6 Conclusion: Social Capital and Knowledge Management 29
4 3 The Role Of Education In The Creation Of Social Capital 35
3687.5 KB
  3.1 Knowledge-based Development 35
  3.2 Role of Language in Educational Management 37
  3.3 Social Capital and Global Phenomenon 38
  3.4 Rise of Network Economy 39
  3.5 Language Limitations 41
  3.6 Language, Education and Social capital 42
  3.7 Social Capital and Access to Influence and Control 44
  3.8 Language and Education as Social Capital 46
  3.9 Conclusion 50
5 4 Social Capital And Official Language In Pre-independence Pakistan
5848.06 KB
  4.1 The Official Language 59
  4.2 Official Language in the Colonies 62
  4.3 Hierarchies and Values amongst Languages 65
  4.4 Official Language and Education 66
  4.5 Colonial Education and Class Formation 67
  4.6 The Filtration Theory 72
  4.7 Language Policies and their Effects on Social Capital 73
  4.8 Islamic Modernism Raising the Social Capital of Pre-Independence Muslims
  4.9 Conclusion 80
6 5 THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IN PAKISTAN 90
5754.81 KB
  5.1 The Linguistic Controversy 90
  5.2 Postcolonial English Language Policies 93
  5.3 Language Policies Leading to Hierarchies 95
  5.4 Language and Education Policies in Pakistan 98
  5.5 The English-Urdu Controversy 99
  5.6 Conclusion 114
7 6 The Relationship Of The Language Of Schooling And Social Capital In Pakistan 122
7367.52 KB
  6.1 The Language of Schooling in Pakistan 122
  6.2 English Language a Medium of Education 122
  6.3 Social Norms and the Schools 125
  6.4 English Language Creating Bonding and Bridging in the Society 126
  6.5 Social and Intellectual Capital Created through Schools 129
  6.6 Social and Academic Outputs of Schools 135
  6.7 The High-Cost English Medium Schools 138
  6.8 Private (Medium to Low-Cost) English Medium Schools 142
  6.9 Vernacular Medium Schools 147
  6.10 Madrassahs 150
  6.11 Schools and Society 153
  6.12 Conclusion 154
8 7 COLLECTION OF DATA, METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 162
5028.34 KB
  7.1 Theory and Applicability 162
  7.2 The Role of Schools in the Creation of Social Capital 163
  7.3 The Creation of Social Capital and How It May be Affected by the Language of Schooling 164
  7.4 Hypothesis 165
  7.5 Research Type 164
  7.6 Data Collection 165
  7.7 Questionnaire 165
  7.8 Rationale of the Questionnaire 166
  7.9 Component Parts of the Habitus 168
  7.10 Piloting of the Questionnaire 173
  7.11 Research Design 174
  7.12 School Sampling Frame 174
  7.13 An Overview of the Schools in the Sampling Frame 175
  7.14 Respondent sample Variables 177
  7.15 Description of the Data Collected 177
  7.16 Data Analysis 179
  7.17 First Principal Component Analysis 180
  7.18 Factors as Dimensions of Social Capital 182
  7.19 Hypothetical and Actual Relationship Between Questions and Constructs and Factors 184
  7.20 Construction of the Scale of Habitus 186
  7.21 Conclusion 188
9 8 Data Analysis 194
4061.88 KB
  8.1 Introduction 194
  8.2 Identity and Gender in Relation to Medium of Education 195
  8.3 The Cognitive Dimension in Relation to Schooling and Habitus 198
  8.4 Do Schools Make a Difference? 200
  8.5 Medium of Education as Explanatory Variable of Social Capital 204
10 9 Summary And Conclusions. 219
490.22 KB
  9.1 Summary 219
  9.2 Results 220
  9.3 Other Findings 221
11 10 Bibliography 222
3588.04 KB
  10.1 Appendix A
  10.2 appendix B
  10.3 Appendix C
  10.4 Appendix D