This much-anticipated fifth edition of Exploring Education offers an alternative to traditional foundations texts by combining a point-of-view analysis with primary source readings. Pre- and in-service teachers will find a solid introduction to the foundations disciplines -- history, philosophy, politics, and sociology of education -- and their application to educational issues, including school organization and teaching, curriculum and pedagogic practices, education and inequality, and school reform and improvement. This edition features substantive updates, including additions to the discussion of neo-liberal educational policy, recent debates about teacher diversity, updated data and research, and new selections of historical and contemporary readings. At a time when foundations of education are marginalized in many teacher education programs and teacher education reform pushes scripted approaches to curriculum and instruction, Exploring Education helps teachers to think critically about the "what" and "why" behind the most pressing issues in contemporary education.

This much-anticipated fifth edition of Exploring Education offers an alternative to traditional foundations texts by combining a point-of-view analysis with primary source readings. Pre- and in-service teachers will find a solid introduction to the foundations disciplines -- history, philosophy, politics, and sociology of education -- and their application to educational issues, including school organization and teaching, curriculum and pedagogic practices, education and inequality, and school reform and improvement. This edition features substantive updates, including additions to the discussion of neo-liberal educational policy, recent debates about teacher diversity, updated data and research, and new selections of historical and contemporary readings. At a time when foundations of education are marginalized in many teacher education programs and teacher education reform pushes scripted approaches to curriculum and instruction, Exploring Education helps teachers to think critically about the "what" and "why" behind the most pressing issues in contemporary education.

This comprehensive and bestselling reader examines the most pressing topics in sociology and education while exposing students to examples of sociological research in schools. Drawing from classic and contemporary scholarship, noted sociologist Alan R. Sadovnik with Ryan W. Coughlan have chosen readings that examine current issues and reflect diverse theoretical approaches to studying the effects of schooling and society. The third edition provides students with nine new readings from some of the best theorists and researchers in education including Sean F. Reardon, Ann Owens, Prudence L. Carter, and Pedro A. Noguera. Through full, rather than excerpted primary source readings, students have the opportunity to read sociological research as it is written and engage in critical analyses of readings in their entirety. This edition features a greater focus on issues of equality and accessibility in schooling for minority students and those with learning disabilities, while an all-new Part IV offers a selection of articles on the shifting social and political factors which have influenced the development of education policy and reform within the last six years. Including comprehensive section introductions, questions for reflection and discussion, and suggested readings, Sociology of Education will stimulate student thinking about the important roles that schools play in contemporary society and their ability to solve fundamental social, economic, and political problems.

This comprehensive and bestselling reader examines the most pressing topics in sociology and education while exposing students to examples of sociological research in schools. Drawing from classic and contemporary scholarship, noted sociologist Alan R. Sadovnik with Ryan W. Coughlan have chosen readings that examine current issues and reflect diverse theoretical approaches to studying the effects of schooling and society. The third edition provides students with nine new readings from some of the best theorists and researchers in education including Sean F. Reardon, Ann Owens, Prudence L. Carter, and Pedro A. Noguera. Through full, rather than excerpted primary source readings, students have the opportunity to read sociological research as it is written and engage in critical analyses of readings in their entirety. This edition features a greater focus on issues of equality and accessibility in schooling for minority students and those with learning disabilities, while an all-new Part IV offers a selection of articles on the shifting social and political factors which have influenced the development of education policy and reform within the last six years. Including comprehensive section introductions, questions for reflection and discussion, and suggested readings, Sociology of Education will stimulate student thinking about the important roles that schools play in contemporary society and their ability to solve fundamental social, economic, and political problems.