Contextual Factors

Much of what goes on outside of the school forms a context within which the education system operates. For instance, a country's education system must accommodate the specific demographics of its population as well as economic and other conditions affecting society.

In several ways, the United States stands out starkly from the other countries reported in this section. With 252 million people, the United States has by far the largest population of any of the countries to which it is typically compared. Japan, the second most populous country, has half as many people; and Germany, the third most populous country, has about a third as many residents. In addition, the United States is one of three countries with a larger land areaby a factor of at least 10than any of the other countries reported. The other two countries with large land areas are Canada and Australia. The fourth largest country, Turkey, is a tenth as large as Australia (Indicator 30). Finally, the percentage of children living in poverty after tax and transfer (approximately 20 percent) is more than twice as high in the United States as in any of the other countries for which data were reported (Indicator 35).

These profound differences between the United States and many other industrialized countries have major ramifications for the education system. Governance structures in the United States must be suited to a large population and land area, and services provided by schools must reflect the fact that a sizable proportion of students live below the poverty level.

One area in which there was a noticeable difference between the United States and its economic competitors 30 years ago, but no longer today, is productivitygross domestic product (GDP) per employed person. In 1961, with the exception of Canada, all of the G-7 countries as well as the other countries for which data were available had productivity levels no greater than half as large as that of the United States. But in recent years, the gap has narrowed greatly. Although the United States still has the highest productivity, the index for all of the G-7 countries is 75 percent of the United States or greater (Indicator 34).

While the context within which the U.S. education system operates differs in some ways from that of other countries, in many other areas its context is similar to that of other countries. To illustrate, the percentage of the population that is 5-29 years old is similar in the United States and the other G-7 countries (Indicator 31). Additionally, while the United States has the highest GDP per capita of all the countries reported (approximately $18,000), three other G-7 countries had a GDP per capita that neared that of the United States (at least $15,000) (Indicator 33).

The United States is also similar to other countries in the percentage of 9- and 14-year-olds who usually speak a different language at home than is spoken at school (Indicator 32), 13-year-old students reporting having fewer than 25 books in their home (Indicator 36), and 13-year-old students who receive help at home with homework (Indicator 37). Thus, in many ways, the resources available for education and the home environment of young students are not very different in the United States than in other countries.

[Indicator 29]

[Indicator 30]