Vicious Circles traces the history of development of public education and the near simultaneous advent of educational reform from its very beginning. Drawing on history, politics, law, sociology, and educational research, all aspects of public schooling are brought to light using a non-partisan analytical approach. Critically examining areas such as institutional racism, sexism, ableism, ethnocentrism, and xenophobia, as well as the corporatization and privatization of public schooling, Shyman extracts the fundamental problems that have ever plagued, and continue to plague, successful education reform. Essentially, Shyman demonstrates that little progress in the area of education reform has ever been made. Rather, the same misinformed, repackaged efforts by a disconnected and insularly private political elite have continued to be applied, perpetuating a "vicious circle" of failed and misguided attempts at education reform.