This study is designed to determine the social and cultural factors influencing an individual and the ways which these factors mold achievement patterns. The book is intended for those who have a broad and general interest in education--teacher candidates, administrators, teachers, and certain lay persons. An objective is to make educators aware of cultural differences, particularly of those differences that affect teaching, learning, and achievement. The six chapters in this brief volume deal with topics such as culture, class, group, and person; culture and capacity to achieve; culture and will to achieve; and person, situation, and achievement. Chapter one, the introduction, discusses and defines the nature of achievement. Chapter two focuses on the nature of social contexts, discussing how they might be characterized or how they vary. Chapter three is concerned with the intellectual capacity to achieve: language, perception, and cognition. Chapters four and five deal with the motivation to achieve. The author draws heavily on cross-cultural studies in language, perception, and cognition which have implications for teachers who work in cross-cultural settings. The concluding chapter suggests that a little learning in the field of the sociocultural origins of achievement can be a dangerous thing due to the delicate balance among all factors which interact to produce this achievement. (Author/DB)