The topic of this paper is a very serious one and I am conscious of the dangers of approaching it in a sterile, obtuse and dispassionate manner. My stance is, thus, one of anger and moral indignation, and expresses' an attitude' (Ladwig, 1996). It partly derives from a recognition that the impact of market-ideology on the governance, process and outcomes of education has been to establish a more hierarchical, status-ridden, selective system, in which exclusionary policies and practices have become more prominent. And this question of social exclusion is not solely applicable to the area of education. It is a feature of the welfare and social system generally (Walker and Walker, 1997).