The first of its kind, this handbook synthesizes major advances in the sociology of education over the past several decades. It incorporates both a systematic review of significant theoretical and empirical work and challenging original contributions by distinguished American, English, and French sociologists. In his introduction, John G. Richardson traces the development of the sociology of education and reviews the important classical European works in which this discipline is grounded. Each chapter, devoted to a major topic in the field, provides both a review of the literature and an...

The global trend in educational participation has brought with it a cross-national consequence: the expansion of students with "special needs" (SEN) placed in special education and the growth of "low achieving" students diverted to vocational tracks. This book explores the global expansion of special and vocational education as a highly variable event, not only across nations of considerable economic, political and cultural difference, but between nations with evident similarities as well. The Global Convergence of Vocational and Special Education analyzes how the concept of secular...