Susan Semel

Basil Bernstein's research project over four decades was on educational systems, specifically "the internal organization and educational context of the school": the powerful forms of knowledge transmitted through schooling systems, and who gained access to these forms of knowledge, how, and with what consequences. Educational failure, Bernstein stressed, did not rest with the students, but rather with the educational institutions. He examined differences in language and communication patterns between the institutions of the home/family and school, and studied the structuring of pedagogic discourse from the level of the state to the classroom. This collection brings together chapters by researchers from five countries to build on Bernstein's concepts. 

This volume provides selections from works widely regarded as central to the development of the education field. They range from the works of John Dewey and W. E. B. Du Bois to those of contemporary thinkers such as Maxine Greene and Diane Ravitch. Semel provides an introductory essay as well as questions for further discussion that contextualize the readings and highlight the selections' continued relevance to today's most pressing educational issues.