This is an amalgam of contemporary debates about sexuality within the context of schooling, posing controversial question, such as: how far is schooling influenced by wider public debates and scandals about sexuality?; what part does schooling play in the production of sexual and other identities?; how can we understand the role and limits of moral traditionalism?; what has the impact the feminism and the lesbian and gay movement been?; how have these radical influences been recuperated?; why is sex education in schools so "impossible"?; and what are the strategies for improving it? This accessible study aims to examine and answer these questions, and provide a key text for teachers and policymakers.

Author Biography

Debbie Epstein's work brings together practice-related studies in education and key social issues, covering a range of inequalities and identity issues. She is Senior Lecturer in Women's Studies and Education at the University of London Institute of Education. Richard Johnson is internationally known for his contribution to the study of educational policy and to cultural theory more widely. He is Professor at Nottingham Trent University and directed the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham University 1980-88. They have previously written together on sexuality in Debbie Epstein's edited collection Challenging Lesbian and Gay Inequalities in Education and, with Deborah Lynn Steinberg, co-edited Border Patrols: Policing the Boundaries of Heterosexuality.