Leveraging social capital for gender and sexuality alliances

Esparza Sosa, Karina (2022) Leveraging social capital for gender and sexuality alliances. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

In this study, I situate the work of Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) advisors within the context of the Safe and Caring Schools Policy (SCSP) in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) and explore the ways in which GSA advisors leverage social capital in support of 2SLGBTQIA+ students in the province. Using a qualitative study design, I first reviewed the progression of the SCSP and its relationship with 2SLGBTQIA+ programming in NL public schools. I then explored GSA advisors’ experiences in GSA by conducting semi-structured interviews with nine GSA advisors, employing egocentric network analysis to examine how they leveraged social capital within their social networks in support of their GSA work. I found that GSA advisors leverage social capital in a variety of ways with certain conditions influencing and facilitating this process: 1) the diversity of GSA advisors’ networks matter for the GSA work and this composition facilitates bridging social capital, 2) trusting relationships are very important for GSA advisors’ roles as they support bonding social capital; 3) school administrators and Safe and Caring Schools itinerants—policy actors who support the implementation of the policy—are key individuals for the GSA work as they facilitate GSA advisors’ access to important resources, thereby supporting bonding and bridging social capital respectively; and 4) policy shapes behavior when and where the policy is understood. I conclude by arguing the importance of social capital and network theories in understanding the inequitable access to social capital by minoritized populations.

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