Throughout its history, education in Britain has been marked by various crucial divisions: gender and class have long been dividing factors, and since the 1960s there has been increasing awareness of the issues of disability and 'race'. This book contains a selection of articles that discuss the history and gendered nature of education policies and the impact of those policies on practice in education in Britain and elsewhere. It presents a range of views and approaches, demonstrating the complexity of the educational experience and the influence of gender, class, 'race' and culture on education. Far from being a radical and liberating experience for many pupils, education emerges for some as restraining - a means of legitimizing dominant ideologies of state and society. The articles - some well-known, others less familiar or specially commissioned - contribute to ongoing debates and afford an examination of the place of education policy in production, reproduction and transformation of the major dimensions of social inequality.