A team of contributors were invited to take a rational look at the future of primary schools, particularly in the first 20 years of the millennium. They were asked to consider many questions, including: what are the roots of primary education? What is the justification for a radical agenda?; how well is the system working and in what ways could it futher optimize its effectiveness in the interests of the participants?; What is a primary school, and what purpose does it serve, and what ends does it have in view? Are these ends appropriate for the future?; What are the roles and indentities of teachers, pupils and parents, and were are they going to be? What are the means by which primary education accomplishes its ends? What are the yardsticks against which it is judged? This book represents the key thinking of key scholars and researchers working in the area of primary education.