Introduction; Chapter 1 A new focus on the powerful, GeoffreyWalford; Part 1 Researching central government policy-makers; Chapter 2 Researching Thatcherite education policy, GeoffWhitty, TonyEdwards; Chapter 3 Ministers and mandarins: educational research in elite settings, JohnFitz, DavidHalpin; Chapter 4 The Lords' will be done: interviewing the powerful in education, J.Daniel McHugh; Chapter 5 Researching the powerful in education and elsewhere, MauriceKogan; Chapter 6 Ethics and power in a study of pressure group politics, GeoffreyWalford; Part 2 Interpreting interviews; Chapter 7 Political interviews and the politics of interviewing, Stephen J.Ball; Chapter 8 The power discourse: elite narratives and educational policy formation, PeterW. Cookson, Jr; Part 3 Feminist perspectives; Chapter 9 A feminist approach to researching the powerful in education, Roslyn ArlinMickelson; Chapter 10 Researching the locally powerful: a study of school governance, RosemaryDeem; Part 4 Historical perspectives; Chapter 11 Research perspectives on the World Bank, PhillipW. Jones; Chapter 12 Interviewing the education policy elite, SharonGewirtz, JennyOzga; Chapter 13 Writing school history as a former participant: problems in writing the history of an elite school, SusanF. Semel; conclusion Conclusion; Chapter 14 Reflections on researching the powerful, GeoffreyWalford;