In the past decade, postmodernism has been widely debated in a number of fields, frequently in the context of rethinking tradition and what constitutes cultural knowledge. The question of post-modernism and education has focused on the issues of democracy, the role of state institutions, and how knowledge is reproduced. Although postmodernism was not the original impetus for rethinking educational theory and programs, Stanley Aronowitz and Henry A. Giroux show how postmodern paradigms can be used to discuss the crisis in education that was already recognized and debated.
Postmodern Education offers an opinionated analysis of today's polemics surrounding the topic of education and society. Aronowitz and Giroux present a conceptual framework for charting the future directions educational theory and practice might take and continue the debate begun in their previous book, Education under Siege, which was named one of the most significant books in education by the American Educational Studies Association in 1986.