"It's Not What You Know

Researchers in the U.S. have increasingly focused on how various forms of social capital shape educational outcomes. But to date, we know little about the impact social capital has on educational outcomes in other countries. Moreover, few have focused on the ethnically specific dimensions of social capital, assuming instead that social capital effects are universal. This article addresses both shortcomings by asking two questions: In Germany, does a relationship exist between parental social capital—i.e., the degree to which adults use family networks or connections to the community—and children’s track placement? If so, does it differentially affect the tracking experiences of German and non-German children? Using sample data from the 1995 wave of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), I examine track placement patterns among ten-to-sixteen-year-old children of German and non-German backgrounds. General analyses suggest that social capital effects are universal. But within-group analyses reveal that such effects remain limited to non-Germans, among whom parental social capital produces mixed effects: Non-German children whose parents frequently engage in socializing activities are more likely to attend the lowest track. Non-German children whose parents maintain interethnic parental friendships (contact with Germans) are less likely to attend the lowest track.