This collection investigates the intersection of cultural transmission and formal schooling through the lens of anthropological inquiry. Editors Craig J. Calhoun and Francis A. J. Ianni compile a series of scholarly papers presented at the 9th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. The work establishes a framework for understanding how educational systems function as mechanisms for cultural continuity and social change within diverse global societies.

Experts recognize this volume as a significant archival record of mid-20th-century anthropological thought regarding pedagogy. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational reference for scholars interested in the history of educational anthropology.