The authors analyse the disparate views put forward in debates concerning both public school and university curricula, multiculturalism, the canon, and the aims of education. They also address the educational proposals and social, political, cultural and economic perspectives advanced by members of the new right, modern liberals, radicals and postmodernists. The book ends with innovative perspectives on social and educational reform, a progressive orientation that provides an agenda for significant change.

This paper re-examines Lyotard’s notion of the postmodern condition in terms of its relevance and significance for education. The first section of the paper examines the Wittgensteinian role that Lyotard ascribes to philosophy in the postmodern condition. The second section, following Lyotard’s discursive turn, locates the problem of the legitimation of education and knowledge in relation to capitalism. The final section provides a review of both Lyotard’s responses to his critics and his reappraisal of his own work.

This paper re-examines Lyotard's notion of the postmodern condition in terms of its relevance and significance for education. The first section of the paper examines the Wittgensteinian role that Lyotard ascribes to philosophy in the postmodern condition. The second section, following Lyotard's discursive turn, locates the problem of the legitimation of education and knowledge in relation to capitalism. The final section provides a review of both Lyotard's responses to his critics and his reappraisal of his own work.