Beyond literacy interventions

How four secondary schools leverage social capital to raise student outcomes in a remote, rural context in England

Bibliographic Data

ID21444976
AuthorsNatallia Yakavets (0000-0002-8427-6658, School of Education University of Nottingham Nottingham UK, corresponding author), Toby Greany (0000-0003-3045-7047, School of Education University of Nottingham Nottingham UK), Mike Adkins (0000-0002-5289-7302, School of Education University of Nottingham Nottingham UK)
Year2026
Publication date2026-07-03
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0141-1926 • E-ISSN: 1469-3518
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/berj.70229
OpenAlexW7167238424
LanguageEN
References cited13

This article examines how four secondary schools in a remote, rural and coastal region implemented evidence‐based approaches to improve student literacy. It introduces a novel nested capitals framework that integrates social capital theory with professional capital and institutional capital, conceptualising these as interacting across multiple system levels (students and families, staff and schools). We analyse how leaders and teachers in the case study schools mobilised and aligned these forms of capital in their efforts to enhance literacy outcomes. Findings reveal broad similarities in the implementation of the literacy programme, but also adaptations shaped by differences in professional and institutional capital across the four schools. These practices were further shaped by distinct school‐level logics in relation to students' social capital. For example, while the two schools serving more advantaged communities could rely on students' existing social capital, the two serving disadvantaged communities were focused on raising aspirations and broadening students' experience‐base, albeit in different ways. We argue that, while policy support for evidence‐based improvement is valuable, it risks oversimplifying the complex dynamics of leadership, place and educational change within rural schooling landscapes. Practically, the article offers a design logic for rural school systems: prioritise shared learning in relation to a small number of high‐leverage practices; build institutional platforms to sustain these; recognise the importance of varied institutional capital among schools; invest in professional capital and intentionally grow students' social capital, focusing on equity. We conclude that durable literacy improvement emerges from systemic interaction across levels, not from the implementation of isolated interventions

Capital (architecture) · Context (archaeology) · Disadvantaged · Leverage (statistics) · Literacy · Social capital · Social mobility · Social reproduction · Indigenous and Place-Based Education · Parental Involvement in Education · Social Capital and Networks

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