BONDING AND BRIDGING: TRANSITION TO SCHOOL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL FORMATION AMONG A COMMUNITY OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN

This study reports on an intervention program designed to facilitate transition to school of a whole community of Indigenous Australian children who had previously not been attending. The children were from families displaced from their traditional lands and experienced on‐going social marginalisation and transience. A social capital framework was employed to track change in the children's social inclusion and family‐school engagement for two years, from school entry. Sociometric measurement and interview techniques were applied to assess the children's social connectedness and peer relationship quality. Using these data, analyses examined whether bonding within the group supported or inhibited formation of new social relationships. Although transience disrupted attendance, there was a group trend towards increased social inclusion with some evidence that group bonds supported bridging to new social relationships. Change in family‐school engagement was tracked using multi‐informant interviews. Limited engagement between school and families presented an on‐going challenge to sustained educational engagement.