First published in 1991, this work critically analyses the competing claims about alternative arrangements for schooling. It does so in light of major popularly understood agendas for social and political purpose, and of the troubled and much less clearly understood assumptions and issues behind them. The book examines closely four generic types of arrangements for schooling in light of a comprehensive framework for understanding the publicness or privateness of schools, and the relationships between social and educational purpose.

The book poses key questions about the meaning and purpose of schooling in the rapidly evolving social, demographic and technological realities of the time. It also probes fundamental assumptions, values and beliefs behind educational and public policy-making. In doing so, it offers a way to make sense of unorthodox arrangements for the provision and funding of schools.