British secondary education has changed in major ways since 1945. This book examines some consequences and implications of both change and stability, drawing on a unique series of national surveys of school leavers in Scotland. The authors provide an empirical and theoretical account of central problems of contemporary schooling. Their analysis covers: certification, curriculum and selection; the effects of educational expansion; trends in educational inequality; the impact of comprehensive reorganisation; truancy and alienation from schooling; the explanation of differences in performance between schools and the implications for the public accountability of schools. From these analyses the authors develop a critique of the ‘theory’ of the education system that underpinned expansion. They examine this theory’s logical and empirical status as ‘myth’ and elaborate how the political system and social science might jointly overcome some of the methodological difficulties that beset social and educational research.

James Anderson critically reinterprets the history of southern black education from Reconstruction to the Great Depression. By placing black schooling within a political, cultural, and economic context, he offers fresh insights into black commitment to education, the peculiar significance of Tuskegee Institute, and the conflicting goals of various philanthropic groups, among other matters. Initially, ex-slaves attempted to create an educational system that would support and extend their emancipation, but their children were pushed into a system of industrial education that presupposed black political and economic subordination. This conception of education and social order--supported by northern industrial philanthropists, some black educators, and most southern school officials--conflicted with the aspirations of ex-slaves and their descendants, resulting at the turn of the century in a bitter national debate over the purposes of black education. Because blacks lacked economic and political power, white elites were able to control the structure and content of black elementary, secondary, normal, and college education during the first third of the twentieth century. Nonetheless, blacks persisted in their struggle to develop an educational system in accordance with their own needs and desires.

This book presents a clear overview of the debates that surrounded the making of the 1944 Act, which affected every aspect of education in this country. It gives a detailed account of the tripartite divisions into 'three types of child' that were sanctioned in the reforms of the 1940s. At the same time, it also emphasises the idea of education as a civic project which underlay the reforms and which was such an important part of their lasting authority. The education policies of the past decade and the current attempts to shape a new education settlement need to be interpreted in a long-term historical framework and in particular, in relation to the aims and problems of the last great cycle of reform in the 1940s. This book makes an important contribution to the development of such a framework and the social history of education policy in this country.

This book examines the factors that need to be taken into account when planning for ‘educational reconstruction’ in post-crisis situations. ‘Crisis’ is taken to cover war, natural disaster or extreme political upheaval. The study takes the form of a mapping exercise, identifying the main areas of concern and providing checklists for action on the part of the various agencies assisting in the processes of reconstruction.

Good quality education is an essential tool for achieving a more sustainable world. This was emphasised at the UN World Summit in Johannesburg in 2002 where the reorientation of current education systems was outlined as key to sustainable development. Education for sustainable development (ESD) promotes the development of the knowledge, skills, understanding, values, and actions required to create a sustainable world, which ensures environmental protection and conservation, promotes social equity, and encourages economic sustainability. The concept of ESD developed largely from environmental education, which has sought to develop the knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behaviours in people to care for their environment. The aim of ESD is to enable people to make decisions and carry out actions to improve our quality of life without compromising the planet. It also aims to integrate the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspects and levels of learning. Education and the future are inseparably intertwined. It is impossible to think about educational matters without making references to the future. Our understanding of future determines, for example, what knowledge and which skills are important for the next generation. Regarding sustainability issues, it makes a difference whether sustainability is thought as a concrete aim which can be reached through technical innovation and efficiency, or whether it is more a normative direction which needs to be determined democratically. Futures in education determine decisions in the present and thus can be understood as “futures for the present.” If the future is the same as the present or can be predicted with any certainty, then it would seem to be not so difficult to decide what the next generation should best be equipped with. However, if the future is presumed to be uncertain, which is ultimately the case, then the necessary knowledge and skills are not that easy to determine.On closer observation of society and educational practice, the described idealized picture of education seems difficult to maintain. Especially institutionalized education isfar from being free of external influences. The promise of a better future has been shattered because of a few severe global crises. Future in post-modern societies has come to be understood,instead, as uncertain, and contingent.

Chiefly covers Maharashtra, India, as a case study.