Part 1 Beginnings; Chapter 1 Some sociological determinants of perception; Chapter 2 A public language: some sociological implications of a linguistic form; Chapter 3 Language and social class; Part 2 Developments; Chapter 4 A review of 'The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren'; Chapter 5 Linguistic codes, hesitation phenomena and intelligence; Chapter 6 Social class, linguistic codes and grammatical elements; Chapter 7 A socio-linguistic approach to social learning; Part 3 Explorations; Chapter 8 A socio-linguistic approach to socialization: with some reference to educability; Chapter 9 Social class, language and socialization; Chapter 10 A critique of the concept of compensatory education; Chapter 11 On the classification and framing of educational knowledge;

The papers in this volume show the origin and development of Bernstein's theoretical studies into the relationships between social class, patterns of language use and the primary socialization of the child.
'Bernstein's hypothesis will require [teachers] to look afresh not only at their pupils' language but at how they teach and how their pupils learn.'
Douglas Barnes, Times Educational Supplement
'His honesty is such that it illuminates several aspects of what it is to be a genius.'
Josephine Klein, British Journal of Educational Studies