Social Science and Education Research
- LAST REVIEWED: 22 February 2018
- LAST MODIFIED: 22 February 2018
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0040
- LAST REVIEWED: 22 February 2018
- LAST MODIFIED: 22 February 2018
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0040
Introduction
This article reviews contributions of quantitative and qualitative social scientists and historians, as well as those of policy analysts in the fields of public health, housing, and urban development, to our understanding of education and education policy. In a few cases, the definition of social “science” has been unreasonably stretched by including entries by moral and political philosophers. The selections in this article represent influential social-science theories regarding education, or distinct points of view in ongoing debates in the sociology, economics, and politics of education. Often, history is written by journalists or others without formal training as historians. On the whole, this article excludes historical works produced by journalists or others without formal training in historiography, but there are exceptions where the work is unusually scholarly and/or influential. Arbitrarily, works of many scholars have not been included if they primarily work or have worked within the education policy world and at schools of education, and they typically do not bring the perspective of the formal social-science disciplines in the arts and sciences. These scholars may legitimately be considered social scientists, and the decision not to list their works cannot be justified except by the need to limit the size of this compendium, for it is impossible to select the 150 most important works from these many fields of social science and history. All experts will find fault with this or any list, reasonably believing that many works should have been included and that some were included without sufficient justification. Experts with such views are certainly correct. In many cases, a bibliographic citation has been provided for a scholar whose body of work contains many similar contributions. The selection of any single citation to represent such a body of work is fairly arbitrary. Alternative citations from the same author or authors would be equally plausible. In those cases where multiple citations for a single author are provided, the several works seem to have had independent influence. Many “classic” works have been included, even if they are no longer influential or if their analyses have been superseded. The justification for including such classics is that they spurred a debate, and literate contemporary participants in this debate will find frequent references to these original contributions. As well, this article necessarily includes contemporary contributions whose lasting worth has yet to be determined.
General Overviews
Several edited works of collected essays by social scientists are important resources for the study of education and child development. Three collections published in the late 1990s—Bronfenbrenner, et al. 1996; Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 1997; and Hauser, et al. 1997—reflect the increasing interest of social scientists with the socioeconomic factors that influence educational outcomes and the paths of child and youth development. Although the specific data in these collections are now outdated, the themes explored in these volumes remain relevant. A subsequent volume, Neckerman 2004, includes more recent data and insightful interpretive essays. Morsy and Rothstein 2015 provides a detailed review of recent literature on five social predictors of educational outcomes across parenting, family structure, employment, and health. An edited volume, Duncan and Murnane 2011 is the most recent comprehensive study of the effects of socioeconomic factors on children’s school achievement. McCartney, et al. 2014 examines practical and policy solutions to narrow the achievement gap across a range of socioeconomic factors. A second growing concern by social scientists in this period is whether schooling affects later economic success and the extent to which the American social structure is fluid (whether there is great upward mobility). The volume Arrow, et al. 2000 brings together a group of distinguished social scientists to explore this issue.
Arrow, Kenneth, Samuel Bowles, and Steven Durlauf, eds. 2000. Meritocracy and economic inequality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
The theme of this collection by Nobel Prize winner in economics Kenneth Arrow, and an unusually distinguished group of colleagues, is that variation in intelligence has relatively little to do with socioeconomic inequality. When schooling improves occupational success, it does so not by improving cognitive ability but by improving noncognitive skills.
Bronfenbrenner, Urie, Peter McClelland, Elaine Wethington, Phyllis Moen, and Stephen J. Ceci, eds. 1996. The state of Americans: This generation and the next. New York: Free Press.
This is a dated but short and easily accessible compendium, with accompanying interpretation; includes data from the early 1990s on demographic trends, crime, family structure, poverty, and economic forces affecting youth development.
Duncan, Greg J., and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, eds. 1997. Consequences of growing up poor. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
In eighteen chapters, a distinguished group of sociologists, economists, and demographers survey the impact of poverty on educational outcomes, health, adolescent development, children’s behavior, parenting practices, and fertility. Chapters also assess the intergenerational transmission of poverty and the relative importance of poverty and other family characteristics in predicting children’s future success or lack of it.
Duncan, G. J., and R. J. Murnane, eds. 2011. Whither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children’s life chances. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
A follow up to Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 1997, this ambitious book analyses the socioeconomic factors that contribute to children’s academic achievement. Distinguished contributors across the social sciences examine factors related to family, labor market, child development and neuroscience, schools, and neighborhoods.
Hauser, Robert M., Brett V. Brown, and William R. Prosser, eds. 1997. Indicators of children’s well-being. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Chapters comprise a comprehensive (as of the date of publication) survey of data sources on numerous aspects of education and child development, including health, education, economic security, social development, and behavior, as well as demographic, family, and neighborhood characteristics. Chapters also discuss the state of federal data collection, and recommendations for improvements, many of which remain necessary today.
McCartney, Kathleen, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, and Laurie B. Forcier. 2014. Improving the odds for America’s children: Future directions in policy and practice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Suggests policy solutions in health, early childhood care, school reform, juvenile justice, and childhood poverty to narrow the achievement gap between children from a low socioeconomic background and middle-class children.
Morsy, Leila, and Richard Rothstein. 2015. Five social disadvantages that depress student performance: Why schools alone can’t close achievement gaps. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.
This report describes how social class characteristics plausibly depress achievement and suggests policies to address them. It focuses on five characteristics: parenting practices that impede children’s intellectual and behavioral development, single parenthood, parents’ irregular work schedules, inadequate access to primary and preventive health care, and exposure to and absorption of lead in the blood.
Neckerman, Kathryn, ed. 2004. Social inequality. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Essays in this volume are of uniformly high quality and authored by the leading social scientists of the time. The essays are organized into sections: “Family and Neighborhood,” “Investments in Children,” “Inequality in School and Work,” “Inequality in Health,” “Inequality in Political Participation,” “Inequality and Public Policy,” “Inequality in Wealth,” and “Methods and Concepts.”
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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