This collection contains 100 papers drawn from the broad range of contemporary writing on the sociology of education. Major trends and developments from the 1970s through to the 1990s are represented. The text offers a comprehensive introduction to and overview of the field.

The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in Sociology of Education brings together a carefully selected collection of articles and book chapters to reflect enduring trends in the field of Sociology of Education. Focusing on the major issues confronting education today, this lively and informative Reader provides broad coverage of the field and includes sections on crucial topics such as:

• social class
• globalization
• gender
• curriculum
• social inequality and social justice
• students and classrooms.

With an emphasis on...

Childcare is a topic that is frequently in the media spotlight and continues to spark heated debate in the UK and around the world. This book presents an in-depth study of childcare policy and practice, examining middle class parents' choice of childcare within the wider contexts of social class and class fractions, social reproduction, gendered responsibilities and conceptions of 'good' parenting.

Drawing on the results of a qualitative empirical study of two groups of middle class parents living in two London localities, this book:

• takes into account key...

With the issue of childcare high on the New Labour agenda, this is a subject that is often in the media spotlight, and one that will continue to spark heated debate both in the UK and around the world. This book presents a substantive study of childcare policy and practice, examining middle class parents' choice of childcare within the wider contexts of social class and class fractions, social reproduction, gendered responsibilities and conceptions of 'good' parenting.
Drawing on the results of a qualitative empirical study of two groups of middle class parents living in two London...

Bringing together twenty years of research and writing, this book provides an overview of Stephen Ball s career and shows not only the development of his most important ideas but also the long-lasting contributions he has made to the field of educational policy analysis. This volume contains sixteen key essays divided into three sections:

• perspectives on policy research
• policy technologies and policy analysis
• social class and education policy.

Each chapter presents innovative ways of thinking about public policy, asking probing questions about...

Is the privatisation of state education defendable? Did the public sector ever provide a fair education for all learners? In Education plc, Stephen Ball provides a comprehensive, analytic and empirical account of the privatisation of education. He questions the kind of future we want for education and what role privatisation and the private sector may have in that future. Using policy sociology to describe and critically analyse changes in policy, policy technologies and policy regimes, he looks at the ethical and democratic impacts of these changes and raises the following questions: Is...

Education, Globalisation and New Times comprises a selection of the most influential papers published over the twenty-one years of the Journal of Education Policy. Written by many of the leading scholars in the field, these seminal papers cover a variety of subjects, sectors and levels of education, focused around the following major themes:

• education, globalisation and new times
• policy theory and method
• policy and equity.

Compiled by the journal's editors, Stephen Ball, Ivor Goodson and Meg Maguire, the book...

This book seeks to offer the most up-to-date and relevant sample of contemporary research on Latin American education, by inviting the reader to understand the complexities, heterogenetics, nightmares, dreams, crisis and promises of education in the region.

This internationally appealing book is based on a two-year case study of a group of young people as they move through their final year of mandatory schooling and into their first year of post-16 experience. It looks at their choices, the market behaviour of local education and training providers and those who help and advise these choices. The authors show that recent and current political policies for post-16 education disadvantage, marginalize and exclude young people rather than improve their life chances. The book draws together the major issues and attempts to suggest alternative ways...

This internationally appealing book is based on a two-year case study of a group of young people as they move through their final year of mandatory schooling and into their first year of post-16 experience. It looks at their choices, the market behaviour of local education and training providers and those who help and advise these choices. The authors show that recent and current political policies for post-16 education disadvantage, marginalize and exclude young people rather than improve their life chances. The book draws together the major issues and attempts to suggest alternative ways...