With some comments, however, he takes us forward to his latest work and to new formulations of theory. This is particularly the case with his extended response to Apple's essay on social class analysis and to Tyler's critique of his recent paper on market-oriented pedagogic practice. In this latter response, Bernstein is provoked to consider the possibility of a new pedagogic arena for producing, institutionalizing, and projecting pedagogic identities, a new arena in terms of the positions for launching identities. Bernstein takes this further to articulate three possible pedagogic identities formed in relation to specific social conditions in contemporary society. The book is not one to be read from cover to cover.
Some articles are much stronger and some more readable than others.
But Knowledge and Pedagogy makes an important contribution to our understanding of educational theory and practice, not only as a collection of commentaries on Bernstein's project but also for the opportunities it provides via Bernstein for the discussion of other issues central to social theorizing and to educational research such as the meanings of social class, language and the construction of meaning, ways of talking about structures and relationships in a postmodern society, and ultimately, ways of reconsidering the organization, content, and transmission of education.