Offering new perspectives and powerful ideas for discussion on a variety of long-standing topics such as class, race and gender, the book is organised around five enduring themes: Policy and Politics, Global and Environmental Education, Knowledge and Learning, Childhood and Youth, Professionalism and Employment. With a distinctive international and global focus, this new edition has been extensively updated to reflect the latest research and thinking in the field and features new chapters on: Including summary points, questions for discussion and annotated suggestions for further reading, this book provides the theoretical background needed to carry out a critical analysis of education policy and practice and is an essential resource for all students of Education Studies.