This manual applies the tools of sociology to the study of schooling systems and defines the basic characteristics of skilful professional teaching. The author attempts to avoid value judgements and explains the complex nature of various aspects - relational, organisational, and communicational - of educational reality. The volume represents an essential tool for both sociology students, who can address the topic from an ample comparative viewpoint, and future teachers, who can acquire the sociological knowledge needed to play their role at different educational levels.

Contents: Introduction - Part One: School and Society - 1. Sociological Study of School Systems - 2. The Relationship between Schools and Agencies of Socialisation - 3. Schools in Multiethnic Societies - 4. Differences at School - Part Two: School Actors and Practices - 5. Teachers and School Heads - 6. Young People and Schools - 7. Organisational Images of School - 8. Social Interaction in Class - Bibliographical References - Indexes

Lorenzo Fischer teaches Sociology of Education at the University of Turin and the Interuniveristy Specialisation School for secondary schoolteachers.