Social capital and transformative learning: Linkages and dynamics in inter-organizational relations within the Landcare Approach in the Philippines

The concept of social capital has gained currency in the design and formulation of rural development programs. It is a resource with multiple functions. Contemporary usage of the concept in social sciences classified the term into three distinct approaches. This study built on the research by Coleman and others, particularly on the link of social capital with human capital.; The study by Coleman and those that built on his work focused on formal education among children and young adults. The indicators they used did not describe the learning process that took place among the students. Although skills and knowledge they acquired embodied human capital, the studies did not examine the social capital-transformative learning interface. A recent analysis of nongovernmental development organizations and intersectoral problem solving suggested a linkage but no further studies have been published. Social capital-learning interconnectivity remained underexplored.; This dissertation answered, “How is the social capital embedded in nongovernmental organization-local government-people's organization (NGO-LG-PO) collaboration linked with transformative learning of program implementers? To answer this, with its five specific questions, I adopted an interpretive research orientation in educational research shaped by qualitative framework. I gathered the data and analyzed them through the grounded theory methodology. A cross-section of the Landcare Approach provided the context of this study.; The collaborative partnership among nongovernmental organization, local government units, and people's organization embedded social capital with ten elements. The degree of collaboration indicated the level of social capital, a measurement emerging from this research. The social capital promoted collaborative behavior that facilitated transformative learning, consisting of shifts in mindsets and perspectives, production of lessons, and consequential actions. This tri-dimensional event constituted an operational definition that made a complex and implicit change process public.; Social capital and transformative learning co-existed in the collaborative partnership. This research provided some evidence that social capital and transformative learning are linked. The plausible two-way cause and effect relationships indicated functional interconnection. Seven emergent hypotheses synthesized the findings of this research. As a groundbreaking initiative towards formulation of theory on social capital-transformative learning interconnectivity, this study illuminated social capital-learning nexus a research niche integrating sociology and adult education, two traditionally disparate disciplines.