The micro-politics of educational reform: teachers and policy in NSW and Britain

This paper is a report of research-in-progress. Comparisons will be made with parallel research in England. The study began in 1989 as a pilot investigation into decision-making by the first group of Leading Teachers appointed to secondary government schools in the Hunter Region preliminary to the 'Schools Renewal' programme. The field of study is relevant to the conference sub-theme "Teachers in Today's Climate" with particular reference to the Scott report (1990) view of 'school-centred education'. The research findings present qualitative and quantitative data collected on what a group of executive decision-makers actually attempted in the management of change. This experience was mediated by the LTs own sense of self, by the culture of their setting, and by wider social and political contexts. This paper thus aims to present an instance of the process of policy implementation and the micro-political interactions derived from managing reform.