"Introduction to Education Studies" is established as the key text for undergraduate students of education studies as well as for practitioners embarking on a higher degree. The book provides a thorough grounding for students new to the subject without assuming a substantial prior knowledge of the area. It also takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of education, drawing on the authors' extensive experience of teaching and course development at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The book contains 11 chapters: (1) What Is Education Studies?; (2) The Nature of Education; (3) Researching Education; (4) A Modern History of Schooling; (5) The Curriculum; (6) Individual Achievement: Major Psychological Theories; (7) Education and Psychological Research: Contemporary Influences; (8) The Influence of Social Factors, Gender and Ethnicity on Achievement; (9) Organising Teaching and Learning: Pedagogical Trends; (10) Politics and Policy in Education; and (11) Education--A Contested Enterprise.