Globalisation, governance and policy reform in a challenging world

This chapter focuses on education policy as the vehicle for exploring how the national and global context impacts on policy reform and implementation in America, the UK and Australia. This chapter shows that the process of education policy reform and implementation is complex and often tortuous. The critical elements identified in policy reform include both national and international contexts, the prevailing level of economic and political stability and the confidence and hope citizens have in the capacity and good will of their governments. The chapter suggests that teachers and principals have been forced to learn how to manage the waves of policy and procedural change and, at the same time, to attempt to continue nurturing a love and curiosity for learning among a diverse range of students.