Social and Cultural Differences

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The following research paper is on the topic educational psychology. The central topic of educational psychology that is going to be covered is social and cultural differences and how it impacts a student’s education. Aboriginal population is the fastest growing population in Canada and they have the lowest graduation rate too. You will read about causes and effects of the graduation rate and what is being done to improve the graduation rate.
Educational psychology is not only the studying education itself, but it “is the understanding of the principles that govern human behavior, education is the understanding of the principles that govern teaching and learning” (Edmunds, 2010). There are nine central topics in educational psychology. The topic that is going to be investigated is Social and Cultural differences. This topic is particularly interesting because of the experiences and observations I made going to school as an Aboriginal student. As a young student in elementary or even high school, I did not take notice to the factors that affected my peers and choices they made that affected their education. Now, in my fifth year of university it is clear that there are a number of different factors in social and cultural differences that have an e ffect on a students’ education.
With that being noted, what affects Aboriginal grad rates and what is being done about it? According to Statistics Canada, the fastest growing population in Canada is Aboriginal people. Statistics Canada estimates Canada’s Aboriginal population to be between 1.7 and 2.2 million by 2031. The average annual growth on Aboriginal population is up to 2.2%, as compared to 1.0% of non-Aboriginal population (StatsCan, 2011). Therefore, that would mean there would ...

... middle of paper ...

...riginal graduation rates such as promoting the importance of early childhood education and teaching soon-to-be teachers to use and find a number of teaching strategies to engage and motivate students in their education. Therefore, social and cultural differences affect a student’s education.

Works Cited

Edmunds, A. a. (2010). Educational Psychology: Applications in Canadian Classrooms. Don Mills: Oxford University Press.
MacIver, M. (2012). Aboriginal Students' Perspectives on the Factors Influencing High School Completion. Multicultural Classrooms, 156-162.
Nguyen, M. (2011). Closing the Education Gap: A Case for Aboriginal Early Childhood Education in Canada, A Look at the Aboriginal Headstart Program. Canadian Journal of Education, 229-248.
StatsCan. (2011, December 7). Statistics Canada. Retrieved 1 9, 2014, from Government of Canada: http://www.statscan.ca

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