Across the world, a number of long-term trends - globalization, marketization, managerialism - are now impacting on national education policies. Here, Mike Bottery shows how, paradoxically, these forces are making education both more centralized and more fragmented. In this magisterial study of educational policy and practice, he shows the dangers this creates and, in response, how to create a more humane and democratic education system.

Mike Bottery is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Hull, UK. He has published eight books on issues of educational leadership, values and sustainability, including The Challenges of Educational Leadership (2004) and Educational Leadership for a More Sustainable World (2016).