The educational system of a country is influenced by various social forces and cultural values that are present in that society. For this reason, it is important for the student to gain an understanding of major social issues that affect the operation of the school and an awareness of the broad-based social questions which underlie educational decisions. Selected material from the social sciences has been utilized for this purpose. This social foundations text is to provide the student with an introduction to the major social, cultural, and economic forces that exert a direct influence upon our educational system. The articles should be used as a basis for further reading and discussion. All of the areas considered contain both factual and theoretical material in the selected articles. Each section has an introduction which specifically relates the articles to a major educational theme. - Preface.