James Avis develops an important argument in this wide-ranging book, in which questions of social justice play a central role. He explores the socio-economic and policy context of education in advanced capitalist societies, and indicates the manner in which the rhetoric of policy-makers distorts the way in which skill is marshalled in the economy. The result is that oppressive and exploitative features of paid labour are underplayed in this rhetoric. He examines the lived experiences of teachers and students in post-compulsory education and explores their contradictory positions. If questions...