Many of the most important policy decisions that a state can make relate to education. What kind of education should children receive? How far should parents be able to dictate that choice? Is it acceptable to have schools that instruct pupils in a particular religious faith? Should elite private schools be allowed to exist? Given that such schools do exist, can socially progressive parents send their children there with a clean conscience?

Our guest today has been exploring these and many other related questions for decades. Adam Swift is Professor of Political Theory here in the UCL Department of Political Science. His books and papers include

• Educational Goods: Values, Evidence and Decision-Making, written with Harry Brighouse, Helen F. Ladd, and Susanna Loeb
• Family Values: The Ethics of Parent-Child Relationships, with Harry Brighouse
• How Not To Be A Hypocrite: School Choice for the Morally Perplexed Parent.
• How to Regulate Faith Schools
• How Not to Defend Private Schools
• Pandemic as Political Theory

He starts with the basic principles of political theory. And from these he draws out key implications for policy-makers and for parents.

UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.