This book, first published in 1985, argues that changes in the education system are closely bound up with wider social and political changes. It considers items within education such as developments in teacher assessment policy and changes in the control of education policy; and external items such as new directions in the management of the economy, of class relations and of the political system. Throughout, the book reflects a mood of growing frustration and anxiety shared by many teachers and educationalists which, the book argues, stems from a feeling that the education system is not being run as it should be. This title will be of interest to students of education and sociology.