The Australian Government Muscling in on School Education offers a historical account of this government involvement in Australian education, from Federation to the present day, providing a much-needed, fully updated and relevant overview the topic.

Grant Rodwell is an Adjunct Research Academic at the School of Education, University of Tasmania, Australia.

Introduction. Chapter 1: Researching the Kaleidoscope of Australian Federalism and School Education. Chapter 2: Coordinated Federalism: Federation, Compulsory School Cadets and a Looming War (1901-19). Chapter 3: Cooperative Federalism: The Efficiency Dynamic and the Progressive Years (1919-39). Chapter 4: Pragmatic Federalism: Postwar Imperatives and the Menzies Years, Coalition Governmnets (1949-72). Chapter 5: Coordinative Federalism and Treading Softly: The Whitlam and Fraser Years (1972-83). Chapter 6: Corporate Federalism: The Hawke and Keating Years (1983-96). Chapter 7: Supply-Side Federalism and Globalism: The Howard Years (1996-2007). Chapter 8: Enter 'Risk Society': National Control and the Rudd, Gillard, Abbott, Turnball, Morrison Years (2007-2015). Chapter 9: General Conclusions.