Teachers of the urban working class, especially in inner city areas, have always been regarded as strategic agents in processes of social and cultural formation. In the Victorian era, seen as ‘The Teachers of the People’, ‘Pioneers of Civilization’ and ‘Preachers of Culture’, their role in gentling and controlling the urban masses was crucial. They have always been at the centre of confrontation and struggle – in a classroom sense, in a cultural sense and in a socio-political sense. In contemporary inner city schools such confrontation and struggle remain a reality. Teachers, Ideology and Control is one of the first attempts to examine this important social and occupational group by locating contemporary sociological research in an historical framework. As such it will be of interest not only to students of sociology and education (especially urban education) but also to social historians. Its relevance to those who either administer or teach in urban schools will be clear. The author shows the ways in which contemporary inner city schools are caught up in an ideological struggle in education. He explore the nature of constraint and control in urban education with reference to existing constructs of the ‘good teacher’; the demands of the teacher’s work situation and the reality of autonomy. He suggests that, viewed historically, the relative autonomy of teachers has increased as a result largely of socio-political and institutional crises. At the same time however there have been important changes in the modality of social control, changes from more explicit to more implicit features. What it is to be a ‘good teacher’, the effects of day-to-day ‘immersion’ in school life and the ideology of professionalism- -these are all seen to be important constituents of a network of implicit control in contemporary education.

Teachers of the urban working class, especially in inner city areas, have always been regarded as strategic agents in processes of social and cultural formation. In the Victorian era, seen as 'The Teachers of the People', 'Pioneers of Civilization' and 'Preachers of Culture', their role in gentling and controlling the urban masses was crucial. They have always been at the centre of confrontation and struggle - in a classroom sense, in a cultural sense and in a socio-political sense. In contemporary inner city schools such confrontation and struggle remain a reality. Teachers, Ideology and Control is one of the first attempts to examine this important social and occupational group by locating contemporary sociological research in an historical framework. As such it will be of interest not only to students of sociology and education (especially urban education) but also to social historians. Its relevance to those who either administer or teach in urban schools will be clear. The author shows the ways in which contemporary inner city schools are caught up in an ideological struggle in education. He explore the nature of constraint and control in urban education with reference to existing constructs of the 'good teacher'; the demands of the teacher's work situation and the reality of autonomy. He suggests that, viewed historically, the relative autonomy of teachers has increased as a result largely of socio-political and institutional crises. At the same time however there have been important changes in the modality of social control, changes from more explicit to more implicit features. What it is to be a 'good teacher', the effects of day-to-day 'immersion' in school life and the ideology of professionalism- -these are all seen to be important constituents of a network of implicit control in contemporary education.

Although the different contributions to this book range over a wide spectrum of substantive issues, they share a common interest. This is a concern to explore the ways in which notions of the relations between theory and practice, between belief and action, can be used to develop three kinds of sensitivity in the sociology of education. A sensitivity towards how school systems are created, maintained and made to function; towards developing a more refined, critical and constructive awareness of the reliability and validity of descriptions, analyses and explanations offered in this field of study; and a sensitivity towards the ways in which changes take place within the education system and how the insights and realisations generated in the discipline might be used to control such occurrences.

Since 1979, Ideology and Curriculum has been a path breaking statement on the relationship between cultural and economic power in education. The new edition of this now classic text has been updated by celebrated author and activist Michael W. Apple to include a full new chapter on the book’s lasting critical agenda in the context of the contemporary conservative climate. A new substantive preface introduces the fourth edition, reflecting on earlier arguments and developments from the intervening years while a concluding interview details the author’s background and continuing efforts toward building a more equitable society. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of its publication, this highly-anticipated new edition firmly situates Ideology and Curriculum as one of the most important education titles of our time.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its publication, Michael W. Apple has thoroughly updated his influential text, and written a new preface. The new edition also includes an extended interview circa 2001, in which Apple relates the critical agenda outlined in Ideology and Curriculum to the more contemporary conservative climate. Finally, a new chapter titled "Pedagogy, Patriotism and Democracy: Ideology and Education After 9/11" is also included.

The sociology of education has been at the forefront of new developments in sociological theory. This book examines and criticizes a number of these new developments and discusses some empirical work on issues of current concern. One of the few books that integrates radical and critical sociology into the field of education, it deals with the resultant difficulties. The topics covered include cultural deprivation, ideologies in education, classrooms, the teaching profession and the history of women’s education.

Recent worldwide education policy has reinvented teachers as agents of change and professional developers of the school curriculum. Academic literature has analyzed changes in how teacher professionalism is conceived in policy and in practice but Teacher Agency provides a fresh perspective on this issue, drawing upon an ecological theory of agency. Using this model for understanding agency, Mark Priestley, Gert Biesta and Sarah Robinson explore empirical findings from the 'Teacher Agency and Curriculum Change' project, funded by the UK-based Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Drawing together this research with the authors' international experiences and perspectives, Teacher Agency addresses theoretical and practical issues of international significance. The authors illustrate how teacher agency should be understood not only in terms of individual capacity of teachers, but also in respect of the cultures and structures of schooling.

Esta publicación se basa en el estudio publicado por la UNESCO en 2007 "Filosofía, una escuela de libertad". Refleja los debates de la reunión celebrada en Milán en febrero de 2011 que permitieron avanzar sobre los retos planteados en ese estudio. Se diseñaron Recomendaciones sobre enseñanza de la filosofía a nivel regional dirigidas a los Estados Miembros, Comisiones Nacionales de la UNESCO y Comisión Europea, así como a profesores de filosofía, estudiosos y miembros de la sociedad civil. Estas Recomendaciones se incluyen en las pp. 76-83 de la publicación.