This book is the first to offer a philosophical and linguistic analysis of rhetoric and discourse as deployed throughout education. It draws upon the work of Foucault, Derrida and Lyotard to investigate rhetoric in the classroom; in learning mediated through new communication technologies (e.g. the Internet) in professional development; in policy documents; in institutional management and leadership and in education research itself. It will be a key resource for those conducting research into discourse in any branch of education.