This volume provides the most comprehensive and systematic collection of essential writings on the philosophy of education. Offering a balanced treatment of the fundamental questions and philosophical issues regarding the nature and aims of education, as well as the central debates in current educational policy, this book explores topics such as teacher professionalism and accountability, the commercialization of schooling, multicultural education, parental choice, educational equality and disabilities, and curricular controversies. Selected for their focus on important issues of educational practice as well as their philosophical merit and readability, the readings include seminal selections from Plato, Aristotle, Isocrates, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, and Dewey, as well as numerous contemporary writings. The five major sections of the text correspond to the five basic normative dimensions of educational practice: its nature and aims, the authority it rests on, its responsibilities, the manner in which it is conducted, and the content that is communicated or learned. This innovative framework gives the collection its comprehensive scope, while keeping the focus on the fundamental philosophical issues of educational practice and policy.