The sociology of education is a rapidly expanding area within sociology and in educational studies generally, and cuts across many other disciplines. The area is also often defined as the social contexts of education or the social foundations of education. The sociology of education has been the arena for significant developments in theory and methods and in many instances has led the other sociological, social sciences and educational fields. This Encyclopedia provides a state-of-the-art resource in the sociology of education and related interest areas such as education and society, sociological theory, the study of the family, educational structures, educational processes and the social foundations of education. This is a specialist collection of considerable depth which documents the theoretical, methodological and substantive developments in the sociological study of education into the next century. The International Encyclopedia of Sociology of Education is recommended reading for students, teachers and academics, researchers and policy makers within the field of sociology of education as well as scholars from outside the field. The Encyclopedia not only provides and informative introduction to the aspects of sociology that seriously influence education, but the content of the entries and the extensive bibliographies also make the Encyclopedia essential reading for scholars already well versed in these fields. Articles include updated and revised material from the International Encyclopedia of Education, 2nd Edition (described by Choice as being "a premier resource when judged on virtually every criterion applied to reference work") together with newly commissioned material.