Professor Peter Gordon, Professor Denis Lawton

'Short but comprehensive and very readable summary of how teachers and thinkers over the ages have tried to resolve the problems and paradoxes that education poses ... This book is practical and academic. Teachers and students will find that it clarifies their knowledge and their thinking; those who want to contribute to the great debate will find it a stimulating companion and guide' - Times Higher Education Supplement

• Introduction - a history of Western educational ideas; the Greeks; the Romans; the Judaeo-Christian tradition; mediaeval Europe and the influence of Islam; humanism and the Renaissance; the Reformation and the counter-Reformation to the end of the 17th century; the 18th century - the Enlightenment; Romanticism; industrialism, nationalism and the cult of efficiency; the idealist tradition; the development of the social sciences in the 19th century and their influence on education; the influence of politics and political ideologies on educational ideas; the Second World War and after - peace, internationalism and universal literacy; liberal education; pedagogy; gender; conclusion - the end of education?.