The Sociology of Educational Ideas

This study, first published in 1973, examines the principles that lie behind educational dilemmas, and helps to clarify the difficulties of explanation, justification and practical action in the educational system. The author explores various key concepts in the education process, such as Intelligence, Equal Opportunity, Knowledge and Selection. She shows that different and often contrasting interpretations of these concepts imply certain assumptions about the nature of man, the genesis and knowledge, the education process and its relation to society. This title will be of interest to students of sociology and education.

Introduction; Part One: Exploring Ideas in Education; 1. Contrasting Approaches to Education: 'Progressives' and 'Idealists' Distinguished 2. Intelligence and the Educated Man 3. The 'Knowledge-Ideal' 4. Equality of Educational Opportunity and the Idea of Compensatory Education 5. Selection in Education; Part Two: Education and Society; 6. The Organisation of Education: The Influence of Economic Models 7. Class, Status and Power: The Management of Knowledge 8. System and Action Models: The Sociological Dilemma 9. Educational Ideas in Policy and Practice; Suggestions for Further Reading; Bibliography; Index