The Evolution of Educational Thought is Durkheim's single most ambitious and comprehensive work of historical sociological analysis. The book traces the development of French education from its origins in the early Church up through the nineteenth century, combining in one integral study an inquiry into educational philosophies, doctrines, and discourses of curriculum and pedagogy.

The Evolution of Educational Thought is a case study in the making of the modern world and of the moral challenges that face it, a contribution to the historical sociology of morality that uses the educational sphere as its institutional grounding. In a new introductory essay written especially for this edition, Mustafa Emirbayer argues that this neglected masterpiece by one of the founders of sociology ranks as one of his most challenging and provocative works. He shows how its republication after decades of relative obscurity will add new dimensions to current debates in historical and educational sociology and shed new light on the moral problems and dilemmas of modern societies.

Translated by Peter Collins; First published by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. in 1977.

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917）涂尔干（杜尔克姆、迪尔凯姆）,法国社会学家,社会学的学科奠基人之一。1858年4月15日出生于法国孚日省埃皮纳尔一个小城镇的犹太教教士家庭。幼年曾学习希伯莱文、旧约和犹太教法典。青年时代放弃了宗教信仰,走上实证科学的道路。1879年,就学于巴黎高等师范学校,1882年毕业。1882～1887年,在省立中学教书。其间赴德国一年,学习教育学、哲学、伦理学,深受W.冯特实验心理学的影响。1887～1902年,在波尔多大学教书,并在那里创建了法国第一个教育学和社会学系。1891年,被任命为法国第一位社会学教授。1898年,创建了法国《社会学年鉴》。围绕这一刊物形成了一批年轻社会学家的团体──法国社会学年鉴派。1902年后执教于巴黎大学。第一次世界大战中断了这位反战学者的学术研究,他的儿子和许多学生死于战场,他受到极大的刺激。1917年11月15日在巴黎去世。主要著作有：《社会分工论》(1893)、《社会学方法的规则》（1895）、《自杀论》(1897)、《宗教生活的基本形式》(1912)等。