John Beck studied at the universities of Cambridge and London. He is Senior Lecturer in Education at Homerton College, Cambridge. He has been a teacher of geography and was later Head of Social Sciences at Thomas Bennett School. Chris Jenks studied at the universities of Surrey and London. He is Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmith College, University of London. Nell Keddie studied at the universities of Cambridge and London. She is Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmith College, University of London. Michael F.D. Young studied at the universities of Cambridge and Essex, and the former Regent Polytechnic. He is Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Education at the University of London Institute of Education, and was previously Head of Science at the London Nautical School.