Asset-Mapping

Abstract

Sen’s capability framework is essentially a mechanism for determining quality of life. It represents what people can achieve and be, and has very little to do with wealth or possessions, but is about the freedom people have to choose the life paths they value (Sen, 1992, 1999). His approach to evaluating well-being has much in common with the approach some low-income communities have adopted in rebuilding themselves, a successful example of which is described by Jasek-Rysdahl (2001)¹ from outside the field of education, but which schools facing challenging circumstances might profitably use as a route to improvement. It focuses on mapping the capability-enabling assets (Kretzmann & McKnight 1993; McKnight 1995) of stakeholders and using them for improvement. The aim is to create a ‘capacity inventory’ (Jasek-Rysdahl, 2001: 314) of the capabilities, talents and skills possessed by stakeholders — in the case of schools: students, teachers, parents and others — which they are willing to share with others.² If used, such an approach to school improvement, which borrows heavily from Nussbaum’s (2000) notions of ‘basic’, ‘internal’ and ‘combined’ capabilities,³ could form part of a more general movement towards self-reliance and self-confidence, and developing stronger internal social relationships in school communities.