This was a study examining the relationship of pre-service teacher education students’ use of social network sites and their development of social capital. The prevalence of social network sites in the research literature offered some tentative evidence of the importance of social capital for pre-service teachers as well as the educational potential of social network sites in education as a tool for developing and sustaining social capital. More specifically, this research focused on the development of bonding and bridging social capital by pre-service teachers. The research used an online survey, which was sent to juniors, seniors and interns in a college of education to gather data about pre-service teachers’ self-reported frequency and purpose of use of social network sites. Analysis included an examination of the survey data using quantitative methods, a comparison of current data to that collected by Ellison et al. in a similar 2007 study and qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended questions about experience with the social network site Facebook. The levels of social capital found in the present study were generally consistent with previous studies. Bonding social capital and bridging social capital were positively correlated, as were attitudes toward formal Facebook use and informal Facebook use. The relationships of measures of social capital with Facebook intensity were weak. The students' reports of formal Facebook use by their teacher education instructors and informal use among themselves provided further insight into how the context of social network sites use may influence the development of social capital. The results of this study contribute to an understanding of how individuals develop social capital, as well as how social network sites are being used by students and their instructors in support of learning.
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