Schooling and Society
Myths of Mass Education

This new textbook is a wide-ranging, contemporary and accessible analysis of familiar myths about mass education in the United Kingdom.

Gordon Tait (Author)

9781316610541, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 April 2017

424 pages, 10 b/w illus. 1 table
24.7 x 17.5 x 1.8 cm, 0.84 kg

'This book is a really great resource for undergraduates studying sociology of education. Presenting myths and then debunking them in a clear and accessible writing style is exactly what many students need to develop a more sociological understanding of a phenomenon that they often take for granted.' Peter Hemming, Cardiff University

This new book is a wide-ranging, contemporary and accessible analysis of familiar and recurring myths about mass education in the United Kingdom. Looking at a variety of important issues and problems, each chapter begins by dispelling myths and assumptions about the classroom, going beyond class, race and gender, to offer analysis of topics such as discipline, youth cultures, information technology and globalisation. Utilising an interdisciplinary lens, this book offers knowledge from disciplines as diverse as sociology, philosophy, jurisprudence and cultural studies. Gordon Tait examines the strengths and weaknesses of different theoretical approaches to education, from critical theory to postmodernism, and Foucaultian governance to post-colonialism. Analysing the many assumptions about education taken for granted in British public discourse, important conclusions are drawn about which of these assumptions are fair and reasonable, and which we should challenge. This book is an essential resource for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses on the sociology of education, culture and education, and the philosophy of education.

Introduction
Part I. Re-Assessing the Three Pillars: Modern and Postmodern Sociologies of Education: 1. Social class
2. Gender
3. Race/ethnicity
Part II. The Foundations of an Alternative Approach: Education and Governance: 4. Governance
5. Subjectivity
6. Pre-adulthood
7. Big data
Part III. Cultural Contexts of Contemporary Education: 8. The media
9. Popular culture
10. Technology
11. Globalisation
Part IV. Philosophy and Mass Education: 12. Philosophy
13. Ethics, disability and the law
14. Truth and postcolonialism
Conclusion: the central aims of this book.

Subject Areas: Educational psychology [JNC], Moral & social purpose of education [JNAM], Philosophy & theory of education [JNA], Sociology [JHB]