The following research paper is on the topic of educational psychology. The central topic of educational psychology that will be covered is social and cultural differences and their impact on a student's education. The Aboriginal population is the fastest growing in Canada and also has the lowest graduation rate. You will read about the causes and effects of graduation rates and what is being done to improve graduation rates. Educational psychology is not just study 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 theme that will be investigated is social and cultural differences. This topic is particularly interesting because of the experiences and observations I have made going to school as an Aboriginal student. When I was a young student in elementary or even high school, I didn't pay attention to the factors that influenced my peers and the choices they made that affected their education. Now, in my fifth year of college, it is clear that there are a number of different factors in social and cultural differences that have an effect on students' education. That said, what influences Aboriginal graduation rates and what is being done about it? According to Statistics Canada, the fastest growing population in Canada is Aboriginal people. Statistics Canada estimates that Canada's Aboriginal population will be between 1.7 and 2.2 million by 2031. The average annual growth of the Aboriginal population is up to 2.2%, compared to 1.0% of the non-Aboriginal population ( StatsCan, 2011). Therefore, this would mean that there would be…half of paper…original graduation rates, such as promoting the importance of early childhood education and teaching prospective teachers to use and find a variety of methods teaching strategies to engage and motivate students in their educational path. Therefore, social and cultural differences influence 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 student perspectives on 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). Canadian Statistics. Retrieved September 19, 2014, from Government of Canada: http://www.statscan.ca