Educational "Choice": Its Appeal May be Illusory

This issue marks a newfeature-the Exchange Section-in which we will publish brief articles on controversial matters of public policy and social concern on an occasional basis. To inaugurate the section, we present an exchange between Alexander W. Astin and James S. Coleman on school choice. Sociology of Education is known for the quality of the research it publishes. With this section, we are creating a forum in which authors can explicitly connect their work and ideas to public debates on education. The pieces in this section should have a scholarly base, but we do not want them to be laden with footnotes, references, or data. They are meant to stimulate debate. Ideally, as in the present case, they will be engaging and clearly written. We invite our readers to contribute ideas for future exchanges.