One of the fundamental questions that guides a good deal of educational policy is whether education can change society or at least play a significant role in such transformation. Over the past decades, neo-liberal and neo-conservative agendas have answered this question with a resounding "yes." They have pushed education in particular directions as part of a larger project of social and cultural transformation. The effects of these agendas have been powerful. Many progressive groups have been more equivocal in their response, either assuming that education can only mirror what is happening in the economy or education can only change when there are significant economic transformations. I will examine these arguments and outline a different way of asking and answering this question in both policy and practice.