At a time when public education and reform agendas are changing the way we approach education, this book critically examines the key issues facing the public with implications for education policy makers, professionals and researchers. Drawing on empirical evidence gathered over 20 years, Helen Gunter confronts current issues about social justice and segregation. She uses Arendtian ideas to help the reader to ‘think politically’ about education and how and why public services education can be reimagined for the future.Draws on empirical evidence gathered over the past 20 years; Provides a new way of thinking about the relationship between evidence and educational policy and presents a vision for how public education; can be reimagined and sustained in the future; Draws on original UK ESRC and British Academy funded research; Provides the first comprehensive study of major public reforms as a political project.