Family's Role in Social Capital in Singapore

Social Science

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Importance of Family’s role in Social Capital...........................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

Introduction
Social Capital can be referred to as those intangible assets that enable the trust factor amongst
the individuals and groups and allow them to work together. In Singapore, The Institute of
Policy Studies (IPS) of the National Institute of Singapore (NUS) offered an understanding of
Social Capital. Through the survey, Social Capital was defined as a means of measuring
community, network diversity and social support behaviours, and examining drivers of
network diversity and consequences of social diverse ties (Chua, Ser, & Koh, 2017).
There are two important qualifications associated with social capital.
 Positive or negative- The first qualification is that Social Capital can either be
positive or negative. As it refers to social networks and links between individuals,
it is very diverse. It can have anti-social objectives like terrorist’ group which are
purely negative and social capital that arise from such networks are clearly
destructive.
 Exclusion, being its counterpart- Another qualification is that of exclusion. When a
group is formed and has strong bonding, they do not treat others as a part of their
group.
The cultural tradition that is been transferred by one generation to another is of great
relevance. This value transmission takes place when parents and grandparents socialize with
their children. This transmission is essential and can be best done by families, next comes the
schools, mass media or any other options (Quah, 2008).
Theories of Social Capital:
 Structural Functional Theory- This theory studies the work of each and every
individual and how the individual activities work together for a fully functional
society.