Abstract

This book is a commentary on ideas about contemporary education, how it is conducted and how it is administered. In a set of thematic essays the editors aim at clarifying the educational problems and paradoxes of postmodern educational conditions and theory. The major concerns of the book are the possibility of achieving substantive political objectives and of theorizing such possibilities. These concerns arise from a dissatisfaction with the organizational and political conditions of postmodern educational practice. The seeming inability of academics to intervene in the public sector, especially in matters of equality, provides a driving force for the book. For individuals who care about the future of education and its role in social reconstruction, the pessimistic nature of postmodern theories of society and education is an additional impetus for the book. All of the chapters exemplify the issues that confront lecturers in contemporary university teacher education contexts.