This book discusses schools--the effects of curriculum change and the reasons why some children are successful in school and others are not. Its purpose is to present evidence of the contribution of contemporary research in the sociology of education to the understanding of education and of society. The collection of research studies represents some well-known theorists, a number of unpublished papers, some papers that have not been obtainable outside their countries of origin, and a few papers translated into English for the first time. In the introduction, the editor discusses implications of the papers that are presented in the book and suggests possible future directions for research. The papers, preceded by a brief editorial introduction, are divided into five categories: distribution of educational achievement, ecology of educational provision, organization of the school, roles and interaction in the school, and values and learning. Several research papers are presented for each topic. (Author/ND)