Building social capital for inclusive education: Insights from Zanzibar

The concept of social capital provided a helpfulframework in which to describe the development ofa pilot programme to promote inclusive educationwithin Zanzibar. This had involved 20 schools andwas supported by an international donor workingthrough a local non-governmental organisation inpartnership with the Ministry of Education. Evaluativeinterviews were conducted with over 30 stakeholdersas part of a video production describing theprogramme. Thematic content analysis identifiedfour main themes that underpinned the programme’ssuccess, namely: parents, local communities,community-based rehabilitation and healthservices, and schools. Within each theme, therewere various examples of the three processesposited for building social capital: bonding, bridgingand linking. By contrast, some of these themes andprocesses have been less emphasised in more affluentcountries, where greater reliance has beenplaced on financial capital to fund additionalresources within schools and educational systems.As this approach becomes no longer sustainable,greater attention will need to be paid to the creationof social capital in attaining more inclusive schools.