Comprehensive schooling and associated policies striving for a greater equality of educational opportunity have been at the centre of debate in many Western countries, since the 1950s. In this volume, the educational and social outcomes of several decades of comprehensive school reform in Sweden, Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany are examined by recognized social scientists from each of the countries concerned. Particular attention is given to the issue of social selectivity. The contributions, originally prepared for an international symposium organized by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education in Berlin, are all based on original research. They have been thoroughly revised and updated, and, in some cases, even completely rewritten. This new edition represents the most recent state of research on the topic.

The Editors: Achim Leschinsky is Professor of Education at Humboldt University, Berlin. His main areas of research include the theory of schooling and the social history of education. Karl Ulrich Mayer is Honorary Professor of Sociology at Freie Universität, Berlin, and one of the Directors of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education. His main areas of interest include issues of social inequality and life-course research.