This is the kind of book on education that the teacher, manager, parent or student has been waiting for. It starts from what we would like to know about how we learn, what settings are conducive to learning, how colleges, schools, universities or training places can be best organised to improve peoples' learning. Unlike other books it is based on reliable research evidence from many fields (sociology, psychology, neuroscience, child development etc). This research is mixed with knowledge distilled from the practical experience of teachers and managers. These differing perspectives are brought together to help us understand the problems of learning. The book goes one step further and proposes ways we could making better use of research knowledge to inform our educational policy and what kinds of research we should now do.