This book discusses the educational significance of three concepts that are cited as representative of enduring and central themes in the liberal tradition: that people should be rational and autonomous, that they should have equality of opportunity, and that individuals can limit state authority. Developments in American public education are introduced to provide a perspective for viewing the role of the school in a liberal society. Proceeding from the idea that the central public function of schooling in a liberal state is the democratic distribution of rationality, the three sections of this monograph investigate and develop approaches to public education in the context of liberal goals and values. The chapters in the first section explore the concept of rationality and its connection with perceptions of teaching and learning and with liberal views of autonomy and liberty. The chapters in Section II appraise the tension between public schools and private values, claiming that schools cannot be effective in developing value systems of individuals while remaining neutral to those values. In Section III, the concepts of equal opportunity and equal rights are examined, leading to a conclusion in which a formulation of liberal justice is derived, and its implications for public education are reviewed. (PG)