The Effects of Social Capital Levels in Elementary Schools on Organizational Information Sharing

Abstract

This study aims to assess the effects of social capital levels at elementary schools on organizational information sharing as reported by teachers. Participants were 267 teachers selected randomly from 16 elementary schools; schools also selected randomly among 42 elementary schools located in the city center of Batman. The data were analyzed by using a regression model and correlation analysis on the total scores obtained by using mean scores from the "Scale for Social Capital at Schools" and "Scale for Information Sharing at Schools." The findings showed that a statistically meaningful relationship existed between all subdimensions of social capital and organizational information sharing. The correlation coefficients revealed that the highest correlation existed between the trust dimension of social capital and organizational information sharing. These results indicate that the information sharing levels at schools were, overall, strongly predicted by social capital and that the regression model was highly supported by the data set at hand. Considering these findings, it is possible to argue that school administrators can make significant use of social capital in improving information sharing levels within their schools.