Keeping in mind that one of the purposes of education is ultimately to advance knowledge, and where this is not always possible, at least familiarise the educated with the advances in knowledge, I would like to consider this question in two ways: one is to discuss what an advance in knowledge involves, even at the level of schooling and even in relation to the one discipline that I know - History; and secondly, to touch on some of the practical aspects of education that involve contemporary governmental educational bodies and institutions that are expected to encourage the advancement of knowledge.

Educational Knowledge makes a unique contribution by bringing neo-Marxist theories, world systems, and post-modern cultural and political theories into a conversation about the changes that are occurring in the educational arena. This book will interest not only specialists in the field of education studying educational reform, but also economists, political scientists, sociologists, and comparative historians who examine the functioning of education within the larger context of modernization.