This book analyses the processes of educational change in England and France by relating political, social, economic and ideological trends to the changing pattern of educational institutions from the time of the Industrial and French revolutions. The authors first assess the relevance of major sociological theories for the interpretation of the main trends in education in both countries in the first half of the nineteenth century. They then put forward an alternative approach, derived from Weber, which links educational change with social conflict. This theory of domination and assertion of groups competing for control over formal instruction before the emergence of the state system is applied to England and France in this period. The main part of the book is devoted to a more detailed analysis of the competing groups in both countries and of their ideologies which served as blueprints for educational reform.