Chapter VI: The Wider Social Context of Education

Abstract

DURING the period covered by this REVIEW there has been an increase in the number of careful studies that relate social forces to school life. Many of these were conducted by educators and appeared in the literature of professional education. As has been true in the past, studies of economic and social forces made during this period have added to our understanding of the wider social context of education. Data on technological and eco nomic changes, population changes, and the types of social stratification found in the United States provide important leads to both the guidance and the curriculum worker. Studies that provide such data and studies that attempt to relate social forces to education have been reviewed in this chapter.