Throughout most of the history of Western civilization, Christianity and classical ideals played a dominant part in education. In most Western countries, however, this is no longer the case. In modern pluralist democracies, Church influence struggles with pervasive influences from elsewhere for the hearts and minds of the public. Educational policy in many countries has become, to a greater or lesser extent, an active or unwitting accomplice in furthering acquisitiveness and the accumulation of material advantage.

Single mothers caring for dependent children are an important and increasing population in industrialized countries. In some, single mothers are seen primarily as mothers and few have paid work; in others, they are regarded as workers and most have paid work; and sometimes they are seen as an uneasy combination of the two with varying proportions taking up paid work.