Teaching profession

. Unit 8
Social Context
INTRODUCTION
 The situation that surrounds an action is
called its context. In fact, analyzing
context is crucial for social interaction and
even, in some cases, for survival. Imagine
you see a man in fear: your reaction
depends on his facial expression (e.g.,
raised eyebrows, wide-open eyes) and also
on the context of the situation.
SOCIAL CONTEXT
 social context, socio cultural context or
milieu refers to the immediate physical
and social setting in which people live or
in which something happens or develops.
It includes the culture that the individual
was educated or lives in, and the people
and institutions with whom they interact
DEFINITION
Social context refers to variables
that, while not usually the direct
target of policy, are crucial for
understanding the context within
which social policy is developed.
THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF
EDUCATION – 1997

A wide range of social conditions

can affect the way kids learn. A
report, The Social Context of
Education,examinesthose
conditions and how they've
changed over the last few
decades.
CONT………..
 These findings are from the recently
published report The Social Context of
Education (1997). And, as the report
points out, statistics demonstrate that these
social conditions can be associated with
school problems, such as children
repeating a grade, being suspended, and
dropping out of school.
CONT………
It is important to note that the
statistics-based findings are broad
generalizations and, while useful,
are not necessarily applicable to
individual students and families,
many of whom "beat the odds."
STUDENT BACKGROUND
Several examples of the relationship between
social factors and educational access and
outcomes are summarized:
 "Poverty is negatively associated with
enrollment rates in early childhood education
programs."
 "Children in single-parent families are more
likely to experience early school problems and
are less likely to participate in early literacy
activities than children in two-parent families."
CONT……
 "Parents' education level is strongly associated with
student achievement." In general, children of parents
with higher levels of education perform better, on
average, on assessments of academic achievement.
 "Parents' education levels have increased dramatically
since 1970."
 "Difficulty speaking English is associated with dropping
out of school." In 1995, the dropout rate was 44 percent
for those who had difficulty speaking English, compared
with a dropout rate of 12 percent for those who did not
have difficulty speaking English.
CONT……..
 "High school graduates from high-income
families are more likely than high school
graduates from low-income families to go
directly to college." High school graduates from
low-income families were more likely to attend
college in 1995 than they were in 1972. But in
1995, 83 percent of high school graduates from
high-income families went directly to college,
compared with 34 percent of high school
graduates from low-income families.
DIVERSITY
 Here are several findings relating to greater
diversity among students:
 "Minority students are projected to make up an
increasing share of the school age population
during the coming decades." From 2000 to 2020,
the projected percentage change in the
population of children aged 5-17, by
race/ethnicity, shows the number of black and
Hispanic children substantially increasing and
the number of white children decreasing.
 CONT………..
 "The percentage of children having difficulty
speaking English increased in recent years."
 "In 1995, both black and Hispanic children were
more than twice as likely as white children to live in
poverty." Poverty is associated with poorer school
outcomes for children.
 "Poverty rates are much higher in the United States
than in many other industrialized countries." The
percentage of children whose families live in poverty
is greater in the United States than in Canada, France,
the former West Germany, and the United Kingdom.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Over the past 30 years, the definition
of family has changed dramatically:
In 1995, 25 percent of children aged
6-8 lived with a single parent, 3
percent lived with other relatives, and
64 percent lived with two biological
or adoptive parents.
CONT……
 "The proportion of children living in
single-parent families has more than
doubled since 1970. In 1994, black
children were three times more likely than
white children to live in a single-parent
family."
DIFFERENCES IN SCHOOLS
In The Social Context of Education,
"low poverty" describes public
schools in which 5 percent or fewer
of the students are eligible for free or
reduced-price lunches, and "high
poverty" describes schools in which
more than 40 percent of students are
eligible to receive free or reduced-
price lunches.
CONT………
"Minority students are more likely
than white students to attend high-
poverty schools."
"Public school teachers in high-
poverty schools are more likely to
report that student misbehavior
interferes with their teaching than are
teachers in low-poverty schools."
RESOURCE EQUITY
 "The average class size in public schools is
similar across all levels of school poverty."
 "Relatively low wealth public school districts
spend less per pupil in general and less on capital
investment than do school districts with more
wealth."
 "Adjusting education expenditures to reflect
differences in the relative cost of providing
education services reduces the spending gap
between districts with high- and low-income
households."
IMPACT OF SOCIAL ISSUES
IN EDUCATION
 Classroom racism
 Ethnic issues

 Unequal opportunity

 Economy

 Cultural issues

 Ethical issues

 Gender issues
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Social problems in education are the
degree of difference treatment
delivered on the cause of gender. In
certain parts of the society, girls are
delivered few opportunities for
studying, in comparison to boys.
Expectations from girls to achieve high
in studies or study further less. 
CONCLUSION
Over the past three decades, the social
context of education has been
transformed. The percentage of
children living with two biological
parents has decreased. The percentage
of children from minority backgrounds
is increasing along with the percentage
of children who speak English with
difficulty.
THE END