The Influence of Selected Context Variables on Schooling.

Teaching and learning processes are complex acts that take place within a complex social institution--the school. Three categories of influences on the teaching/learning process in public schools are presented: external organizations, external social forces, and internal forces in the schools. The external forces considered are: the Supreme Court and its decisions affecting education; federal and state agency regulations, policies, and funding; and teacher organizations and collective bargaining. The examples of external social forces are: drugs and alcohol usage; parental influence; the Back to Basics movement; and Proposition 13. In examining the internal forces on teaching, the interactions between principals, teachers, pupils, and organizational development are traced. For each category, research questions are suggested for further study. The conclusion states that until researchers, practitioners, and theorists identify and agree upon specific and precisely defined variables and the functional relationships that exist among them, little progress can be made in assessing the pervasive influence of social forces on education. (FG)