Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life: Democracy's Promise and Education's Challenge

This book examines the relationship between democracy and schooling and argues that schools are one of the few spheres left where youth can learn the knowledge and skills necessary to become engaged, critical citizens. Not only is the legacy of democracy addressed through the work of John Dewey and others, but the democratic possibilities of schooling are analyzed through a range of issues extending from the politics of teacher authority to the importance of student voices. These issues have only become more vital in an era of neoliberalism and 'smaller government', as Giroux discusses at length in this new updated edition.

Henry A. Giroux, McMaster University, is the author of The Abandoned Generation: Democracy beyond the Culture of Fear (Palgrave 2003)