Strengthening the Links Between Educational Psychology and the Study of Social Contexts

Abstract Education is an essentially social process, and the understanding of social contexts and reciprocal interpersonal and group processes as they are likely to occur in schools and classes is an important part of educational psychology. Focusing on selected topics originating in social psychology and sociology, this article advocates greater research attention to such factors as the social dimensions of self or identity, social support and belonging in educational settings, and group dynamics as influences on individual learning and motivation.