DOCUMENT RESUME EA 026 837 ED 384 134 O'Neill, Marnie H., Ed. AUTHOR Carter, David S. G., Ed.; Educational Reform and TITLE International Perspectives on Policy Implementation. REPORT NO ISBN-0-7507-0407-1 PUB DATE 95 NOTE 215p. Inc., 1900 Frost AVAILABLE FROMPalmer Press, Taylor & Francis, Road, Suite 101, Bristol, PA19007 (paper: ISBN-0-7507-0407-1; cased:ISBN20-7507-0406-3). PUB TYPE Books (010) Collected Works General (020) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS British National Curriculum;Decentralization; *Educational Change; EducationalHistory; *Educational Policy; Elementary SecondaryEducation; Foreign Countries; NationalCurriculum; *Policy Analysis; *Policy Formation;*Politics of Education; School Restructuring; SocialHistory United IDENTIFIERS *Australia; Great Britain; New Zealand; States ABSTRACT This book focuses on educationalchange processes in the context of larger scaleeducational reform. The first of2 volumes, the book contains 11chapters that examine thehistorical, social, and economic forces at workin the formulation and implementation of educational policy.The chapters present different cross-cultural experiences ofeducational change and policy implementation to increase understandingof a new educational reform educational era. Part 1 examinesrelationships between politics and Following reform, and shatters the myththat education is apolitical. (1) "The the introduction by MarnieO'Neill, the chapters include: Evolution of Education Reform in theUnited States: Policy Ideals or Realpolitik?" (James Cibulka);(2) "Curriculum Reform and the Neo-corporatist State in Australia"(David S. G. Carter);(3) "The National Curriculum in EnglandSince 1988" (Denis Lawton); and(4) "Educational Reform and the Politicsof the Curriculum in New Zealand" (Michael Peters). Chaptersin part 2 focus on the development of politics intopolicy and policy implementation:(5) "An Analysis of the Policy Contextsof Recent Curriculum Reform (Kerry J. Efforts in Australia, Great Britainand the United States" Kennedy); (6) "From Policy to ClassroomPractice: Beyond the Mandates" (Shirley M. Hord); and(7) "The Local Educational Change Process and Policy Implementation"(Gene E. Hall). Chapters in the third part address selectededucation-reform phenomena: (8) "Educational Reform and CurriculumImplementation in England: An Historical Perspective" (RichardAldrich); (9) "National Curriculum Assessment in England andWales" (Caroline Gipps); and(10) epilogue "Re-forming the Curriculum in NewZealand" (Ivan Snook). The locates by Gene E. Hall and David S.G. Carter summarizes themes, them in chronological context,and maps out an implementation-research agenda. A subjectindex is included. (Contains 276 references.)(LMI) 4 """111111/ U DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Once o Echo-1111*mM Roatct, sod Imfroroent "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS ED ATiONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) TMtaocum.nt has 011ito mxoducod as j142,4"1 rocIMAO from III. 04,110. W oriMAISAboo IYAlmating .1 0 Moor chanipts AA.* bum mode to *nolo.* roorothocttoo othAMY P111,6 Oivelw or opolons 'NM hrs 60Cu- "nt do not mecssoniv momeent colficw TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OEMPosoon M sobcy INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE International Perspectives on Educational Reform and Policy Implementation 3 International Perspectiveson Educational Reform and Policy Implementation Editors David S.G. Carter and Marnie H. O'Neill The Falmer Press (A member of the Taylor & Francis Group) LondonWashington, D.C. 4 UK The Falmer Press. 4 John Street, London WCIN 2ET USA The Falmer Press, Taylor & Francis Inc.. 1900Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol, PA 19007 D. Carter and M. O'Neill. 1995 All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, withoutpermission in writ- ing from the Publisher. First published in 1995 A catalogue record for this book is available fromthe British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData are available on request ISBN 0 7507 0406 3 cased ISBN 0 7507 0407 1 paper Jacket design by Caroline Archer Typeset in 10/12pi Bernbo by Graphicraft Typesetters Ltd.. Hong Kong. Printed in Great Britain by Burgess Science Press, Basingstokeon paper which has a specified pH 1.41treon final paper mamilactuw of not less than 7.5 and is therefore 'acid free'. J .6 Contents Preface vii List of Acronyms Introduction AlarnieO'Neill 1 Part I Politics Chapter 1 The Evolution of Education Reform in the United States: Policy Ideals orRealpolitik? 15 James Cihulka Chapter 2 Curriculum Reform and the Neo-corporatist State in Australia 31 David S.C. Carter Chapter 3 The National Curriculum in England Since 1988 44 DenisLawton Chapter 4 Educational Reform and the Politics of the Curriculum in New Zealand 52 Michael Peters Part 2 Polity Chapter 5 An Analysis of the Policy Contexts of Recent Curriculum Reform Efforts in Australia. Great Britain and the United States 71 Kerry J. Kennedy Chapter 6 From Policy to Classroom Practice: Beyond the Mandates 86 Shirley M. Hord Chapter 7 The Local Educational Change Process and Policy Implementation 101 GeneE. Hall V 6' Contents Part 3 Perspectives Chapter 8 Educational Reform and Curriculum Implementation in England: An Historical Perspective 125 Richard Aldrich Chapter 9 National Curriculum Assessment in England and Wales 140 Caroline Gipps Chapter 10Re-forming the Curriculum in New Zealand 158 Iran Snook Epilogue Chapter 11Epilogue: Implementing Change in the 1990s: Paradigms. Practices and Possibilities 171 Gene E. Hall and David S.C. Carter References 184 Notes on Contributors 200 Index 202 vi 7 Preface The inspiration for this work, presented as a two-volume companion set, was den% ed. initially from a period of study leave in 1985 and again in 199(1 requiring protracted periods of residence in the USA and UK and resulting in our close In% oh molt with academics, administrators and schools peoplein different education systems and at many levels. Contacts made then have been maintained and strengthened. and, for both of us, as we compared notes and experiences from attending a number of national, regional and international conferences, it became evident that educators appeared to be saying essentially similar things about the implementation of change policies, programmes and practices seemingly driven by external forces which had taken over the agenda from the profession. Somewhere in all this ferment was the exercise of the political will to govern in a directly interventionist fashion in education. It was an intriguing thing to witness as we moved around the world, for example, gubernatorial elections being run on essentially education platforms especially after the publication of A Nation at Risk, the direct involvement of the Thatcher government in developing and imposing a National Curriculum in Britain. with the Education Portfolio becoming one of the hottest in Cab- inet; a similar phenomenon in New Zealand and parallels in Australia. where numerous inquiries into education across the States andTerritories. followed by radical revisions to curricula and organization took place throughout the 1980s continuing to the present. Those who believed in domino theory as this applied to education in Western society could have had a 'field day'. There appeared to be a set of forces at work which could only be worked out through the radical reform, restructuring, and/or transformation of education systems at all levels, although the work of schools was singled outfor particu- lar attention. The latter was motivated by a general dissatisfaction with the deficiencies in the perceived performance of schools and their failure to deliver value for money in terms of the dollar spent; the need to align schools more closely with economic reforms; and a view, prevalent at the time, of educa- tion in terms of human capital. In all the countries mentioned above, we were v ery aware that there was a common conception. atleast by those outside of education (and some within it) that the transformation of schools and the reform of school systems would enable each country concerned to recapture its rightful share of the global market-place. It seemed rather bizarre to us that education, with its underlying moral imperative, was to be a major player I'm Vii Preface the exercise of market forces in realizing socio-economic goals in which the 'size of the global cake' was fixed. In this volume, a number of educators and academics, selected because they were in a good position to bring their insights to the study of the histor- ical, social and economic forces at work in the formulation and implementa- tion of educational policy, try to understand the nature of a new educational reform era. Similarly in Volume 2 they were selected to represent the voices of people, teachers, administrators, academics and consultants who are im- mersed in. and keen observers of, the change process at work. The material they present is significant in its own right and should resonate with the experi- ences of many who have sought to manage and direct the process, and/or have been immersed in it themselves. The perspectives offered are designed to capture different cross-cultural experiences of educational change and policy implementation; to contemplate and compare the collective experience represented in the following pages and thereby to enhance our understanding of the processes and forces