This study looks at the links between school and social inequalities, both the way in which school may cultivate such inequalities, and the educational policies that can play a role in limiting them. The booklet provides what is one of only very few summaries of the plentiful literature devoted to the subject. It reveals the scale and various aspects of social inequalities, and, with reference to sociological research, discusses their origin both within families and in the daily functioning of schools and the classroom. This is followed by a description of educational policies for reducing inequalities in the school careers of children and young people, ranging from classroom-based measures (including teaching practices, and the composition of classes), to policies with an impact on the structural parameters of the system. Finally, the author emphasizes that education policies will gain in strength if they are incorporated into a much more extensive set of policies for lessening social inequalities in the life of young people and their families.
