ITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

The current issue of the journal is devoted to the complex issue of pluralism in education. Pluralism is a highly abstract concept employed mostly in political terms; it denotes commonly plurality of groups, cultural practices, ideas, or belief systems as well as citizenship rights of, for instance representation and freedom of speech. Education responds to the plurality of social groups by designing structures that initially incorporate all members of society. From secondary education onwards however education incorporates existing social hierarchy by hindering, selecting, and socialising the youth according to their social origins, broadly defined. Thus, education functions both in a pluralistic and in a selective manner. The text here comments on the articles in this volume by examining their contribution to further research on the topic of pluralism in schooling. Questions are furthermore raised regarding the ways homogeneity and heterogeneity is perceived and interpreted, as well as the ways which ‘problems’ are framed in education.