Social Context of Education
- LAST REVIEWED: 15 December 2011
- LAST MODIFIED: 15 December 2011
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0039
- LAST REVIEWED: 15 December 2011
- LAST MODIFIED: 15 December 2011
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0039
Introduction
The study of the social context of education explores contemporary issues in education through the lenses of philosophical, political, and sociological theories, concepts, and research traditions. Studies in this field involve the relationship between schools and society, with specific reference to the role of race and ethnicity, social class, and gender in education. The focus often rests on the intersection of schooling and broad social policy, including health, housing, work, and community development. Scholars in this field explore issues of equity, opportunity, and the organization of schooling across an array of school contexts, including domestic and international, traditional public schools, choice programs (e.g., magnet, charter, voucher), and home-based and private schooling. Pertinent questions related to social stratification and social reproduction commonly frame studies in this domain: How do race and class affect the educational experiences of students? Did desegregation contribute to closing the achievement gap? How do neighborhoods coalesce with educational institutions to produce patterns of inequality? How does the organization of schooling (e.g., tracking) shape student outcomes? Broader frameworks in the field probe fundamental questions about the relationship of schools to society: What is the purpose of public education? How do principles of democracy and civility shape contemporary school policies and educational debates? The citations included in this bibliography encompass the core concepts and important research studies related to the social context of education. Some are included because they are seminal works that have shaped the field and the foundational studies that have followed; others are listed here because they reflect the most recent, rigorous, and insightful work in this field. The entries listed here span books, book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, policy reports, and issue briefs. All the citations represent significant contributions to understanding the social context of education.
Democracy and Education
What is the purpose of public education in a democracy? Tyack 1966 answers this question with a seminal piece on the history of public education. Barber 1992 moves from the historical rationale for public education—creating a civil society—to examine the contradictions and challenges of this education goal in a contemporary democracy filled with consumerism and cynicism. Fuhrman and Lazerson 2005 provides a contemporary context to assess the historical arguments for devising and sustaining a public school system as an engine for producing a civil and free society. For readers interested in philosophical debates and policy dilemmas, Gutmann 1999 underscores the tensions between liberty and civility, the central tenets of a democracy, and the challenges facing educators as efforts are made to reconcile and balance these tensions. Ravitch and Viteritti 2001 complements these works by presenting an edited volume with chapters that span multiple disciplinary lenses through which to consider the power and limitations of public education in a democratic state. How do you apply the principles of democratic education to the formation of student-citizens? Readers interested in this question will find thoughtful analyses and substantive models in Westheimer and Kahne 2004, related to elementary and secondary contexts, and should refer to Colby, et al. 2003 for a robust discussion of civic engagement in higher education programs and policies. Skocpol, et al. 1999 provides a provocative, deeply theoretical perspective on civic engagement.
Barber, Benjamin R. 1992. An aristocracy of everyone: The politics of education and the future of America. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
A vision of education as the fount and mainstay of a democratic society. Incorporates themes relating to postmodernism, conservative excess, and community service.
Colby, Anne, Thomas Ehrlich, Elizabeth Beaumont, and Jason Stephens. 2003. Educating citizens: Preparing America’s undergraduates for lives of moral and civic responsibility. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Describes how some colleges are attempting to shape the moral and civic development of students, explains the nature of this development, articulates the challenges faced in the process, and offers recommendations for future efforts.
Fuhrman, Susan, and Marvin Lazerson, eds. 2005. The public schools. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
A compilation of essays covering historical, theoretical, political, and pragmatic topics related to democracy and the American public school. Provides a historical frame of reference and discusses matters of citizenship and mechanisms for enhancing democracy through education.
Gutmann, Amy. 1999. Democratic education. Rev. ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
Defends the cultivation of deliberative skills and virtues necessary for civic education and advocates the principle of shared educational authority among parents, citizens, and educators.
Ravitch, Diane, and Joseph P. Viteritti, eds. 2001. Making good citizens: Education and civil society. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.
This collection of work targets politics, values, and religion as topics intrinsic to the connection between education and civil society. Includes multidisciplinary perspectives from history, psychology, philosophy, political science, and law.
Skocpol, Theda, and Morris P. Fiorina, eds. 1999. Civic engagement in American democracy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
A compendium of predominantly institutionalist and rational-choice theoretical perspectives on the roots of civic engagement, long-term changes in civic activity, and the need for a more critical analysis of newer forms of civic activism.
Tyack, David. 1966. Forming the national character. Harvard Educational Review 36.1: 29–41.
A historical account of how Jefferson, Rush, and Webster formulated educational theories pertaining to the republicanization of the young nation.
Westheimer, Joel, and Joseph J. Kahne. 2004. What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American Educational Research Journal 41.2: 237–269.
DOI: 10.3102/00028312041002237
This article unpacks the concept of good citizenship by drawing on a two-year study of democratic educational programs while exploring the political ramifications of such programs.
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Article
- Academic Achievement
- Academic Audit for Universities
- Academic Freedom and Tenure in the United States
- Action Research in Education
- Adjuncts in Higher Education in the United States
- Administrator Preparation
- Adolescence
- Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Courses
- Advocacy and Activism in Early Childhood
- African American Racial Identity and Learning
- Alaska Native Education
- Alternative Certification Programs for Educators
- Alternative Schools
- American Indian Education
- Animals in Environmental Education
- Art Education
- Artificial Intelligence and Learning
- Assessing School Leader Effectiveness
- Assessment, Behavioral
- Assessment, Educational
- Assessment in Early Childhood Education
- Assistive Technology
- Augmented Reality in Education
- Beginning-Teacher Induction
- Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
- Black Undergraduate Women: Critical Race and Gender Perspe...
- Black Women in Academia
- Blended Learning
- Bullying
- Case Study in Education Research
- Changing Professional and Academic Identities
- Character Education
- Children’s and Young Adult Literature
- Children's Beliefs about Intelligence
- Children's Rights in Early Childhood Education
- Citizenship Education
- Civic and Social Engagement of Higher Education
- Classroom Learning Environments: Assessing and Investigati...
- Classroom Management
- Coherent Instructional Systems at the School and School Sy...
- College Admissions in the United States
- College Athletics in the United States
- Community Relations
- Comparative Education
- Computer-Assisted Language Learning
- Computer-Based Testing
- Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Evaluating Improvement Net...
- Continuous Improvement and "High Leverage" Educational Pro...
- Counseling in Schools
- Creativity
- Critical Approaches to Gender in Higher Education
- Critical Perspectives on Educational Innovation and Improv...
- Critical Race Theory
- Crossborder and Transnational Higher Education
- Cross-National Research on Continuous Improvement
- Cross-Sector Research on Continuous Learning and Improveme...
- Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood Education
- Culturally Responsive Leadership
- Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
- Culturally Responsive Teacher Education in the United Stat...
- Curriculum Design
- Data Collection in Educational Research
- Data-driven Decision Making in the United States
- Deaf Education
- Desegregation and Integration
- Design Thinking and the Learning Sciences: Theoretical, Pr...
- Development, Moral
- Dialogic Pedagogy
- Digital Age Teacher, The
- Digital Citizenship
- Digital Divides
- Disabilities
- Distance Learning
- Distributed Leadership
- Doctoral Education and Training
- Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Denmark
- Early Childhood Education and Development in Mexico
- Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Early Childhood Education in Australia
- Early Childhood Education in China
- Early Childhood Education in Europe
- Early Childhood Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Early Childhood Education in Sweden
- Early Childhood Education Pedagogy
- Early Childhood Education Policy
- Early Childhood Education, The Arts in
- Early Childhood Mathematics
- Early Childhood Science
- Early Childhood Teacher Education
- Early Childhood Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Early Years Professionalism and Professionalization Polici...
- Economics of Education
- Education For Children with Autism
- Education for Sustainable Development
- Education Leadership, Empirical Perspectives in
- Education of Native Hawaiian Students
- Education Reform and School Change
- Educational Research Approaches: A Comparison
- Educational Statistics for Longitudinal Research
- Educator Partnerships with Parents and Families with a Foc...
- Emotional and Affective Issues in Environmental and Sustai...
- Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
- English as an International Language for Academic Publishi...
- Environmental and Science Education: Overlaps and Issues
- Environmental Education
- Environmental Education in Brazil
- Epistemic Beliefs
- Equity and Improvement: Engaging Communities in Educationa...
- Equity, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Excellence in Education
- Ethical Research with Young Children
- Ethics and Education
- Ethics of Teaching
- Ethnic Studies
- Europe, History of Education in
- Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention
- Family and Community Partnerships in Education
- Family Day Care
- Federal Government Programs and Issues
- Feminization of Labor in Academia
- Finance, Education
- Financial Aid
- Formative Assessment
- Future-Focused Education
- Gender and Achievement
- Gender and Alternative Education
- Gender, Power and Politics in the Academy
- Gender-Based Violence on University Campuses
- Gifted Education
- Girls' Education in the Developing World
- Global Mindedness and Global Citizenship Education
- Global University Rankings
- Governance, Education
- Grounded Theory
- Growth of Effective Mental Health Services in Schools in t...
- Higher Education and Globalization
- Higher Education and the Developing World
- Higher Education Faculty Characteristics and Trends in the...
- Higher Education Finance
- Higher Education Governance
- Higher Education Graduate Outcomes and Destinations
- Higher Education in Africa
- Higher Education in China
- Higher Education in Latin America
- Higher Education in the United States, Historical Evolutio...
- Higher Education, International Issues in
- Higher Education Management
- Higher Education Policy
- Higher Education Research
- Higher Education Student Assessment
- High-stakes Testing
- History of Early Childhood Education in the United States
- History of Education in the United States
- History of Technology Integration in Education
- Homeschooling
- Inclusion in Early Childhood: Difference, Disability, and ...
- Inclusive Education
- Indigenous Education in a Global Context
- Indigenous Learning Environments
- Indigenous Students in Higher Education in the United Stat...
- Infant and Toddler Pedagogy
- Inservice Teacher Education
- Integrating Art across the Curriculum
- Intelligence
- Intensive Interventions for Children and Adolescents with ...
- International Perspectives on Academic Freedom
- Intersectionality and Education
- Knowledge Development in Early Childhood
- Leadership Development, Coaching and Feedback for
- Leadership in Early Childhood Education
- Leadership Training with an Emphasis on the United States
- Learning Analytics in Higher Education
- Learning Difficulties
- Learning, Lifelong
- Learning, Multimedia
- Learning Strategies
- Legal Matters and Education Law
- LGBT Youth in Schools
- Linguistic Diversity
- Linguistically Inclusive Pedagogy
- Literacy
- Literacy Development and Language Acquisition
- Literature Reviews
- Mathematics Identity
- Mathematics Instruction and Interventions for Students wit...
- Mathematics Teacher Education
- Measurement for Improvement in Education
- Measurement in Education in the United States
- Meta-Analysis and Research Synthesis in Education
- Methodological Approaches for Impact Evaluation in Educati...
- Methodologies for Conducting Education Research
- Mindfulness, Learning, and Education
- Mixed Methods Research
- Motherscholars
- Motivation
- Multiliteracies in Early Childhood Education
- Multiple Documents Literacy: Theory, Research, and Applica...
- Multivariate Research Methodology
- Museums, Education, and Curriculum
- Music Education
- Narrative Research in Education
- Native American Studies
- Nonformal and Informal Environmental Education
- Note-Taking
- Numeracy Education
- One-to-One Technology in the K-12 Classroom
- Online Education
- Open Education
- Organizing for Continuous Improvement in Education
- Organizing Schools for the Inclusion of Students with Disa...
- Outdoor Play and Learning
- Outdoor Play and Learning in Early Childhood Education
- Pedagogical Leadership
- Pedagogy of Teacher Education, A
- Performance Objectives and Measurement
- Performance-based Research Assessment in Higher Education
- Performance-based Research Funding
- Phenomenology in Educational Research
- Philosophy of Education
- Physical Education
- Play
- Podcasts in Education
- Policy
- Policy Context of United States Educational Innovation and...
- Politics of Education
- Portable Technology Use in Special Education Programs and ...
- Post-humanism and Environmental Education
- Pre-Service Teacher Education
- Problem Solving
- Productivity and Higher Education
- Professional Development
- Professional Learning Communities
- Program Evaluation
- Programs and Services for Students with Emotional or Behav...
- Psychology Learning and Teaching
- Psychometric Issues in the Assessment of English Language ...
- Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques
- Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Research Samp...
- Qualitative Research Design
- Quantitative Research Designs in Educational Research
- Queering the English Language Arts (ELA) Writing Classroom
- Race and Affirmative Action in Higher Education
- Reading Education
- Refugee and New Immigrant Learners
- Relational and Developmental Trauma and Schools
- Relational Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education
- Reliability in Educational Assessments
- Religion in Elementary and Secondary Education in the Unit...
- Researcher Development and Skills Training within the Cont...
- Research-Practice Partnerships in Education within the Uni...
- Response to Intervention
- Restorative Practices
- Risky Play in Early Childhood Education
- Role of Gender Equity Work on University Campuses through ...
- Scale and Sustainability of Education Innovation and Impro...
- Scaling Up Research-based Educational Practices
- School Accreditation
- School Choice
- School Culture
- School District Budgeting and Financial Management in the ...
- School Improvement through Inclusive Education
- School Reform
- Schools, Private and Independent
- School-Wide Positive Behavior Support
- Science Education
- Secondary to Postsecondary Transition Issues
- Self-Regulated Learning
- Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices
- Service-Learning
- Severe Disabilities
- Single Salary Schedule
- Single-sex Education
- Single-Subject Research Design
- Social Context of Education
- Social Justice
- Social Network Analysis
- Social Pedagogy
- Social Science and Education Research
- Social Studies Education
- Sociology of Education
- Standards-Based Education
- Statistical Assumptions
- STEM-related Education, Indigenous Science Education and
- Student Access, Equity, and Diversity in Higher Education
- Student Assignment Policy
- Student Engagement in Tertiary Education
- Student Learning, Development, Engagement, and Motivation ...
- Student Participation
- Student Voice in Teacher Development
- Sustainability Education in Early Childhood Education
- Sustainability in Early Childhood Education
- Sustainability in Higher Education
- Teacher Beliefs and Epistemologies
- Teacher Collaboration in School Improvement
- Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Effectiveness
- Teacher Preparation
- Teacher Training and Development
- Teacher Unions and Associations
- Teacher-Student Relationships
- Teaching Critical Thinking
- Technologies, Teaching, and Learning in Higher Education
- Technology Education in Early Childhood
- Technology, Educational
- Technology-based Assessment
- The Bologna Process
- The Regulation of Standards in Higher Education
- Theories of Educational Leadership
- Three Conceptions of Literacy: Media, Narrative, and Gamin...
- Tracking and Detracking
- Traditions of Quality Improvement in Education
- Transformative Learning
- Transitions in Early Childhood Education
- Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities in the Unite...
- Understanding the Psycho-Social Dimensions of Schools and ...
- University Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in the Unite...
- Using Ethnography in Educational Research
- Value of Higher Education for Students and Other Stakehold...
- Virtual Learning Environments
- Vocational and Technical Education
- Wellness and Well-Being in Education
- Women's and Gender Studies
- Young Children and Spirituality
- Young Children's Learning Dispositions
- Young Children's Working Theories