Introduction; Part 1 Part One From theory and research to policy and practice; Chapter 1 Sociological approachesto the school curriculum; Chapter 2 The curriculum as ideological practice; Chapter 3 Curriculum studies and the sociology of school knowledge; Chapter 4 From academic critique to radical intervention; Part 2 Part Two Current curriculum conflicts in a sociological perspective; Chapter 5 The Great Debate and its aftermath; Chapter 6 The politics of public examinations; Chapter 7 Continuity and change in social and political education; Chapter 8 Sociologists and political movements: a resume of the current issues;