ABSTRACT
Individuals act to accomplish ends or produce changes in the "instrumental contexts of life". From an individual's point of view, each institution offers strategies for achieving desired ends within its functional areas. The most striking indictment of the opportunities offered by rural labor markets is the fact that "one-quarter of poor young adults in the rural labor force held two or more jobs in 1986." Education is also a social system situated within and interacting with other social systems. The educational institution is much more complex than teachers, students, principals, and school boards. Poverty is a social problem that is rooted in the interaction among various institutional structures and processes. The tragedy of human social problems will be adequately addressed only when we begin to reassess our traditional views, treat social life as a seamless whole, and recognize the interdependence among communities, institutions, and people.
