Since its beginnings at the start of the twentieth century, educational scholarship has been a marginal field, criticized by public policy makers and relegated to the fringes of academe. "An Elusive Science" explains why, providing a critical history of the traditions, conflicts, and institutions that have shaped the study of education over the past century.

The Carnegie Corporation, among this country's oldest and most important foundations, has underwritten projects ranging from the writings of David Riesman to Sesame Street. Lagemann's lively history focuses on how foundations quietly but effectively use power and private money to influence public policies.

"Foundations are socially and politically significant, but thissimple fact... has mostly been ignored by students of American history.... Thiscollection represents an important contribution to an emerging field." --Kenneth Prewitt, Social Science Research Council