Educational inequality is not an unfortunate inescapable by-product of poverty, but the predictable outcome of long-standing policy failure.

Moving beyond familiar reporting of deprivation, this book traces a causal chain from elite wealth preservation, political decision-making and weak fiscal enforcement through to under-resourced families and unequal educational outcomes. It draws on extensive analysis of governmental, international and charitable data, alongside scrutiny of the industries and organisations that sustain inequality, to expose how poverty is actively produced and, crucially, how it can be reduced.

Combining rigorous critique with cautious optimism, this timely book identifies the political, fiscal and educational pathways through which entrenched inequalities can finally be challenged.

Carl Parsons is Emeritus Professor of Education at Canterbury Christ Church University, where he was previously Head of Department of Educational Research.