TONY LAWSON is Senior Lecturer in Social Science and Information Technology in the School of Education at the University of Leicester, UK. He was Chief Examiner for the AEB (now AQA) A-level Sociology examination for 10 years and is also on the editorial board of The Sociology Review. TIM HEATON has been teaching Sociology for over 18 years and is well known for his innovative teaching methods. He is currently teaching A Level Sociology and Psychology at Cheam High School, Surrey, UK. ANNE BROWN is Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Leicester, UK. She is also an experienced teacher and examiner of A level Sociology.

Praise for the first edition: '...impressive and reflects the authors' understanding of the exam boards' requirements. They cover the key subsections with great style - legislative change and social policy, differential achievement and the role of education in society - but the real bonus is that many of the studies they refer to have been published in the 1990s. Furthermore, they integrate the newer issues in education (improvement in girl's performance, the impact of the new right) into the flow of the text. This book benefits from its relevance to current debates. It is also good to see data presented in a wide range of forms, as well as lots of exam-based exercises.' - Mike Moores, Times Educational Supplement

• IntroductionEducational Policy and SystemsChanges in Curriculum and AssessmentChanges in Policy and StructureExplaining Class Differences in Educational AchievementExplaining Gender Differences in Educational AchievementExplaining Ethnic Differences in Educational AchievementFunctionalist Explanations of the Role of Education and TrainingConflict and Postmodern Explanations of the Role of Education and TrainingReferencesIndex.