Introduction
Educational outcomes remain the primary factors of consideration when placing a child in the mainstream schooling system. However, not all students achieve the required educational perspectives which are traceable to many factors and forces operating within and around the learner. Social forces encompass some of the main aspects that determine the overall educational outcome. The discussion will evaluate the social forces that culminate to a differentiated educational outcome and highlight the issues and problems that face the United States educational system.
Social forces affecting education outcomes
Socioeconomic factors pose as critical determinants of differentiated educational outcomes. Students that come from poor and unstable socioeconomic status register poor results due to lack of proper financial and social support. The parents and the community may not afford to provide adequately the necessities that are influential towards good performance. On the other hand, learners from stable socioeconomic families register good educational outcomes. Race and ethnicity also lead to different educational results. The America Civil Liberties Union notes that there are many schools which host more than 90% of students belonging to the racial minorities group (Booth & Dunn, 2013). Such schools experience funding shortage and may not provide the type and form of quality education necessary to empower learners to perform optimally. On the contrary, better-equipped schools register optimum performance. Other social forces affecting school and educational performance include the prevalence of drugs and unwanted pregnancies.
Issues with US education system
The US education system faces a myriad of challenges and problems. One of the issues is the poor quality of education. Ideally, the quality of education has remained the same despite the changes occurring in economic, political, societal, business and entrepreneurship realms. The market trends and skill requirements have changed significantly, but the curriculum remains the same. Secondly, the dogmatic and centralized educational management is significantly ailing the education program. For instance, the school system still does not recognize the need to diversify, humanize and restructure the program to allow for a need-based learning approach (Lynch, 2015). Moreover, there is an acute lack of an integrated curriculum that instills creativity, engagement, problem-solving, and technical skills in learners.
Conclusion
Social forces affecting the outcomes of an education system entail socioeconomic factors, race and ethnicity, drugs and substance abuse prevalence, and unwanted pregnancies among other forces. The US school system is failing and lagging behind due to factors such poor quality, centralized management, and lack of need-based approach to teaching and learning.
References
Booth, A., & Dunn, J. F. (2013). Family-school links: How do they affect educational outcomes? Routledge.
Lynch, M. (2015, August 27). 10 Reasons the U.S. Education System Is Failing. Retrieved from Education week: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2015/08/10_reasons_the_us_education_system_is_failing.html
