Social context
The following readings specifically attempt to trace links between individual actions and the wider social context:
- Pollard, A. (1985) The Social World of the Primary School, London: Cassell.
- Sharp, R. and Green, A. (1975) Education and Social Control, London: Routledge and Kegan, Paul.
- Pollard, A. (1996) The Social World of Children’s Learning: Case Studies of Pupils from Four to Seven. London: Cassell.
- Filer, A. & Pollard, A. (1999) The Social World of Pupil Career: Strategic Biographies Through Primary School, London: Cassell.
Whilst the following book has a specific focus on the intersection between gender and class it is also an excellent illustration of the interdependence between the individual and their social context:
- Walkerdine, V., Lucey, H., and Melody, J. (2001) Growing Up Girl: Psychosocial Explorations of Gender and Class. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
For a readable analysis of modern British society, which illustrates aspects of this framework, see:
- Halsey, A. H. (1986) Change in British Society, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Bentley, T. (1998) Learning Beyond the Classroom, London: Routledge.
The following books explore the complex and changing relationships between the state and the processes and practices of education. Coffey emphasises the importance of educational experiences for the production of collective and individual biographies, while Smyth et al examine teachers’ work within the global economy.
- Coffey, A. (2001) Education and Social Change, Buckingham: Open University Press.
- Smyth, J., Dow, A., Hattam, R., Reid, A. and Shacklock, G. (2000) Teachers’ Work in a Globalizing Economy, London: Falmer.
The next group of suggestions are concerned with educational ideologies and reforms. If you wish to follow up the concept of ideology the following reading will help. It provides a very general introduction to a variety of themes relating to Education intended for a professional and non-professional audience and it contains a section on ideology in education in the UK.
- Matheson, D & Grosvenor I. (1999) An Introduction to the Study of Education, London: David Fulton.
Two new books present educational ideologies from an international perspective. The first is concerned with ideologies from a range of leading thinkers from around the world, particularly those that challenge current assumptions about school effectiveness. The second examines educational ideologies within intergovernmental organisations:
- MacBeath, J. and Moos, L. (2003) Democratic Learning. The Challenge to School Effectiveness, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
- Spring, J. (2004) How Educational Ideologies are Shaping Global Societies, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
A classic text on educational ideology and curriculum, now in its 3rd ediition, is:
- Apple, M. (2004) Ideology and Curriculum, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
A good book for an overview of education policy debates in England.
- Ball, S.J., 2021. The education debate. Bristol: Policy Press.
The best book to read to understand New Labour’s approach to education was written by Michael Barber, a close adviser to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair:
- Barber, M. (1996) The Learning Game: Arguments for an Education Revolution, London: Gollancz.
A collection of contributions from key policy thinkers explores the impact of education reforms in four years of Labour government:
- Fielding, M. (ed) (2001) Taking Education Really Seriously, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Two books edited by Jim Docking provide an overview of education reforms:
- Docking, J. (2000) New Labour’s Policies for Schools: Raising the Standard? London: David Fulton.
- Docking J. (1996) National School Policy: Major Issues in Education Policy for Schools in England and Wales - 1979 onwards, London: David Fulton.
Lawton examines Labour party educational ideology since 1900 in the following book:
- Lawton, D. (2004) Education and Labour Party Ideologies 1900 - 2001 and Beyond, London: Routledge.
Distinctions in each part of the UK are reviewed in:
- Gearon, L. (2001) Education in the United Kingdom: Structures and Organisation, London: David Fulton.
Updated basic information is available from the annual review of Britain from the Office of National Statistics:
- Office for National Statistics (annually) Britain: The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom, London: The Stationery Office.
The issues are applied to primary education in:
- Richards, C. and Taylor, P. H. (eds) (1998) How Shall We School Our Children? Primary Education and its Future, London: Falmer.
- Richards, C. (ed) (2001) Changing English Primary Education: Retrospect and Prospect, Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham.
General reviews which locate education and primary school practices within a social and historical context are:
- Clarkson, M. (1988) Emerging Issues in Primary Education, London: Falmer.
- Cunningham, P. (1988) Curriculum Change in the Primary School since 1945: Dissemination of the Progressive Ideal. London: Falmer.
and for Europe as a whole:
- Husen, T., Tuijnman, A. and Halls, W. (1992) Schooling in Modern European Society, London: Pergamon.
- Galton, M. and Blyth, A. (1989) Handbook of Primary Education in Europe, London: David Fulton.
For Australia:
- Henry, M., Taylor, S. Knight, J. and Lingard, R. (1990) Understanding Schooling, London: Routledge.
For the USA:
- Spring, J. (1991) American Education: An Introduction to Social and Political Aspects, New York: Longman.
Keeping abreast of new developments and policies is a considerable challenge. However, there are a number of useful newspapers, magazines, journals and web sites for the UK:
- Times Educational Supplement (weekly)
- Child Education (monthly)
- Junior Education (monthly)
Legal requirements have also been changing rapidly and access to reliable, accurate and regularly updated sources of information can be invaluable. The National Association for Headteachers and the National Union of Teachers supply such services for their members in the form of ring-binders of information. An independent resource for all teachers, with a quarterly update routine and dealing with all legislation, management, staffing, special educational needs and day-to-day issues which occur in schools, is:
- The Head's Legal Guide, London: Croner Publications.
In keeping with our emphasis on school cultures, defined as ‘sets of shared perspectives’, we offer a number of related suggestions for exploring and illustrating how school cultures, and sub cultures exist and how they operate:
- Prosser, J. (ed.) (1999) School Culture, London: Paul Chapman.
- Smyth, J., McInerny, P., Hattam, R. & Lawson, M. (1999) School Culture: The Key to School Reform, Adelaide: Flinders Institute for the Study of Teaching.
- Maehr, M. and Midgley, C. (1996) Transforming School Cultures, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
- Grace, G. (1978) Teachers, Ideology and Control, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Two books which focus particularly on school playground cultures are:
- Bishop J.C. & Curtis, M. (eds) (2001) Play Today in the Primary School Playground, Buckingham: Open University Press.
- Blatchford, P. & Sharp, S. (1994) Break Time and the School, London: Routledge.
Taking a broader approach to school cultures, and the communities within which they are embedded, the following two books present analyses of cultural influences on school processes:
- Connell, R.W., Ashden, D.J., Kessler, S & Dowsett, G.W. (1982) Making the Difference: Schools, Families and Social Divisions, Sidney: Allen & Unwin.
- Humphries, S. (1982) Hooligans or Rebels? Oxford: Blackwell.
The following two chapters, both from the same book by Woodhead, Faulkner and Littleton, are recommended to readers interested in the growing field of 'cultural psychology':
- Trevarthen, C. (1998) The Child's Need to Learn a Culture, in Woodhead, M., Faulkner, D., and Littleton, K. (eds.) Cultural Worlds of Early Childhood, London: Routledge.
- Cole, M. (1998) ‘Culture in Development’, in Woodhead, M., Faulkner, D., and Littleton, K. (eds.) Cultural Worlds of Early Childhood, London: Routledge.
A book by Gregory may help to expand your understanding of what it means for young children to enter a new language and culture in school:
- Gregory, E. (1997) One Child, Many Worlds: Early Learning in Multicultural Communities, London: David Fulton.
Regarding the influence of educational resources, the following book discusses the effects of local management on the ways that schools have been managed and resourced since 1990:
- Levacic, R. (1995) Local Management of Schools, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Recent books on structural aspects of education are:
- Cribb, A. and Gewirtz, S. (2009) Understanding Education: A Sociological Perspective. London: Polity Press.
- Abbott, I. D., Rathbone, M. and Whitehead, P. (2012) Education Policy. London: SAGE.
- Ball, S. and Junemann, C. (2012) Networks, New Governance and Education. Bristol: Policy Press.
- Guile, D. (2010) The Learning Challenge of the Knowledge Economy. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
- Elliott, G., Chahid, F and Issler, S. (2010) Education and Social Change: Connecting Local and Global Perspectives. London: Continuum.
- Revell, L. (2012) Islam and Education: The Manipulation and Misrepresentation of A Religion. London: IOE Press.
- Feintuck, M. and Stevens, R. (2013) School Admissions and Accountability: Planning, Choice Or Chance? Bristol: Policy Press.
- Pring, R. A. (2012) The Life and Death of Secondary Education for All. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Gorard, S. A. and See B. H. (2013) Overcoming Disadvantage in Education. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Renowden, J. (2013) Educational Accountability: Creating Opportunities for Learning.
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