Afterword: Implications for educational policy and practice

Abstract

This book provides rich resources for teaching and learning about broad social and cultural issues in education. At the same time, it raises a question often heard by instructors in educational foundations courses, and that is, "What is the practical relevance of this material?" -to policy formation, curriculum design, school administration, classroom pedagogy, and so on. This is a fair question, but not an east one to answer. Social and cultural analysis in education is often more akin toe "basic" than "applied" research, to use a distinction common in the natural sciences. The primary purpose of this work is to clarify and expand existing insights, illuminate new concepts, raise new questions, and the reframe perspectives on long-standing issues. To be sure, a few of the authors in this book -notably several in section III- do offer specific ideas for improving educational policy and practice that flow from their research. Most, however, leave the reader to draw out such ideas in the context of his or her own specific experiences and understandings. This kind of contingent "application" is compatible with the interpretive enterprise in which the authors are engaged.