Exploring Education: An Introduction to the Foundations of Education

This much-anticipated fourth 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 the addition of discussion on the neo-liberal educational policy and recent debates about teacher evaluation, updated data and research, and new readings by leading researchers, such as Diane Ravitch, Robert Dreeben, and Helen F. Ladd.

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.

Alan R. Sadovnik is Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of Education, Sociology, and Public Administration and Affairs at Rutgers University, USA.

Peter W. Cookson, Jr. teaches at Teachers College, Columbia University, USA, and is President of Ideas without Borders in Washington, DC, USA.

Susan F. Semel is Professor of Education and Chair of the Department of Secondary Education at the City College of New York, USA.