ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors wish to re-affirm the conventional radical faith which sees schooling as an important determinant of the nature of adolescent and adult society, social problems and social patterns. The belief in the ineffectiveness of schooling as a medium of social change has also been challenged by the appearance of an increasing number of studies from the United States and Britain that indicate, contrary to earlier suggestions, the existence of substantial school effects upon pupil outcomes of all kinds. The authors review and critically evaluate the evidence, both negative and positive, as to the effectiveness of educational expansion, change in school system organisation, the introduction of innovations and the use of compensatory education in attaining academic and social goals. They conclude—echoing the old, radical faith—that the school itself may be able to combat adolescent problems by means of processes that involve institutional change and modification.
