The State of Vorarlberg on the Internet

For the first time, there are social capital studies in Vorarlberg about three schools in the state (2 AHS – general high schools and 1 HS – high school) which demonstrate a clear link between voluntary activities, performance at school and personal well-being.

Significant results
The classes which carry out social service assignments benefit considerably, because

• there is an increase in identification with the school
• the well-being within relationships of friendship increases
• the feeling of being happy and healthy increases
• the positive social capital in teacher-student relationships doubled in such classes.

Overall there was a revolution in the consciousness of the actively engaged students: they became more aware of issues and the need for assistance in the neighbourhood through social service. The contact with people in need also encouraged participants to be more helpful in their own social environments. In addition, social activities in which students had the impression of unfriendliness or lack of understanding at school diminished.

Alongside studies, being able to experience social capital in a practice-oriented manner is important. In the project "Friends & More" the concept of social capital is presented in schools and developed for practical application by means of workshops. For this reason, an "Energy Day" was organised by the HTL Bregenz (a higher technical college) for primary school children. What makes the combination of water and electrical appliances so dangerous? Why should you not simply switch off the television with the remote control? Can you really produce electricity with lemons? Thirty-five 3rd-year students from the primary school in Bregenz learnt all these things. Not – as is usually the case – from their teachers, but from students from HTL Bregenz.

Both sides could benefit from one another and found the project extremely educational.
Social Capital Studies (link to German page)