In the early 1970s few subjects in schools had grown faster than moral education, and more and more teachers were seeking guidance in a changing and developing field where a training in the ‘traditional’ subjects could not always provide sufficient help. Originally published in 1975, Dr Kay maintained that a study of the sociological factors involved could give considerable insight into the meaning and purpose of moral education, and in this book he examines the effect on the individual pupil of the home, the school and differing socio-economic class structures and ideologies.

Using standard sociological analyses Dr Kay discloses some of the determinants of individual morality as they affect children in their homes and schools. He concludes that the alleged moral superiority of the middle-classes merely stresses the fact that the benefits which are currently enjoyed by this minority should become the privilege of all. The analysis of home and school leads him to the view that a democratic milieu is the environment most likely to promote moral growth. And his study of school systems concludes with the view that privileged elitism should be replaced by an ‘aristocracy of service’, with full pupil-participation in every aspect of school life. Today it can be read in its historical context.