This book investigates the role of social class as a primary determinant in educational structures, pedagogical practices, and the formation of student subjectivity. The authors, Deborah Kelsh, Dave Hill, and Sheila Macrine, utilize a materialist framework to examine how power dynamics and ownership influence schooling. They argue that understanding class is essential for challenging existing inequalities and restructuring society toward more egalitarian outcomes.

Experts in critical pedagogy recognize this work as a significant contribution to the materialist critique of modern schooling. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and its utility for scholars examining the intersection of political economy and education.