Knowledge and Nationhood

Although at times wordy and dense, this book should be vital reading for anyone concerned with education, politics and economic growth in the late 1990's. Although focussing on particulr issues in the UK, the critiques made here are as relevant for all post-industrial societies in which education is at once controlled by a managerial agenda while leaving its co-ordination to a so-called rational market. While celebrating individual agency, it disputes both the rational individualist and deterministic views of human behaviour, re-defining choice in terms of social networks. It is radical rather than liberal, while recognizing the need for investment in education as an economic resource it also proposes deeper reforms which support education for citzenship, and the challenges of globalization