During the past decade there has been a series of radical changes to the educational system of England and Wales. This book argues that any serious study of these changes has to engage with complex questions about the role of education in a modem liberal democracy Were these educational changes informed by the needs and aspirations of a democratic society? To what extent will they promote democratic values and ideals'? These questions can only be adequately addressed by making explicit the political ideas and the underlying philosophical principles that have together shaped the English educational system.