First published in 1970, The Social Origins of English Education breaks new ground by going back to the origins of English education in tribal society. The author treats the history of education not as the record of a closed educational world, but as an aspect of social and intellectual history.

The first part surveys the early development of education in England up to the twelfth century. The second concentrates on particular aspects—rural upbringing, the new concept of education that arose in the town, and the teaching methods of the medieval university. In each case, use is made of specialist studies of a kind rarely drawn upon, though they throw much light on changing educational concepts and forms.