Social Class and Education in Modern Britain: Why Inequalities Persist and How Can We Explain Them.

This paper discusses the historical continuity and persistence of educational inequalities I postwar Britain. It shows that despite much policy activity, educational inequalities have never really been the real target of policy action. Rather, a more concrete policy target has been the support of the markets, which were expected to act an equalizing force of the aforementioned inequalities. In such a context, my contention is that inequalities of any sort cannot be reduced without challenging class inequalities, which, in turn, is predicated upon the challenging of the dominant class relations. Insofar as explanations have to be invoked to explain the persistence and salience of educational differentials in attainment and the attendant centrality of social class in these explanations, I suggest that the research interest is turned to the role of the elites and their contribution in the rearrangement of class relations.