The Mediating Role of Social Capital in the Relationship Between Social Class and Access to Educational Opportunities
Keywords:
Social capital, social class, educational opportunities, educational inequality, mediating roleAbstract
Purpose: The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the mediating role of social capital in the relationship between social class and access to educational opportunities among final-year high school students.
Methodology: This study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive–correlational in terms of data collection method, using structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all upper-secondary students in the city of Ilam during the 2024–2025 academic year, from which a sample of 384 students was selected using multistage cluster sampling. Standard questionnaires on social capital and social class, as well as a researcher-made questionnaire on access to educational opportunities, were used for data collection. The validity of the instruments was confirmed by experts, and their reliability was established using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (above 0.8). Data analysis was performed using SPSS and structural equation modeling tests.
Findings: The results of the correlation analysis indicated that social class, social capital, and access to educational opportunities are positively and significantly related (p < .01). Regression analysis to test the mediating role showed that social class has a direct and significant effect on access to educational opportunities (β = .45). Social class also had a positive and significant effect on social capital (β = .58). In the final model, after including the mediator variable of social capital, the direct effect of social class on access to educational opportunities decreased but remained significant (β = .21), while social capital had a positive and significant effect on access to educational opportunities (β = .41). These findings indicate a partial mediating role of social capital in the relationship.
Conclusion: Social capital functions as a key mechanism through which the economic and cultural advantages associated with higher social classes are transformed into tangible educational opportunities.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maryam Mansouri, Tayebeh Goodarzi (Author)
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