Carolyn Roberts MBE is an experienced headteacher, published education thinker and writer, a founding fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and Co-Director of The Professional Teaching Institute (The PTI).

Hugh Rayment-Pickard MBE is Co-Director of The PTI and was formerly Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of education charity IntoUniversity

Part 1: What is a good education? 1. The functionalist view of education. 2. Education as self-realisation. 3. Are all good schools alike? 4. Should schools serve individuals or communities? 5. Who decides what a good education is? Part 2: A good curriculum 6. The best that's been thought and said: the 'knowledge-rich' school. 7. Education for creativity. 8. Building up educated citizens. 9. Is a good school conceivable without great subject teaching? 10. Local curriculum development. 11. Education as transmitting knowledge, values and cultural identity. 12. Rendering tensions productive: Finding joy and seeking wisdom in the intellectual enterprise of the curriculum. 13. What is a quality curriculum? Part 3: Is assessment fit for purpose? 14. Assessment and children's experience of learning. 15. The role of public examination and qualifications. 16. The school leader as emancipator. 17. Understanding, embedding and assessing complex competences such as creative thinking, collaboration and communication. 18. How do we know someone is well educated? Part 4: Who benefits from education? 19. Creating joy. What does educational success look like? 20. Who are schools failing? 21. Education for families who don't see the point. 22. What is fairness in education? 23. The broader societal benefits of education 24. Is it possible to be overeducated? Part 5: What is an educated society? 25. Education as a means to foster a nation with a shared culture, tradition and values. 26. Is there an education utopia? 27. A vision for a better world? 28. A community of individual talents 29. Does society still value teachers? Afterword Index