ABSTRACT
Few would question the centrality of the teacher’s role in bringing about changes to make schools more effective places for children to learn. Any proposed change, whether it comes from within the school or from outside, will ultimately be put into practice by classroom teachers. However obvious that statement might appear, policymakers and change agents often act as though reform mechanisms can be put into place without consulting teachers; that some sort of divine intervention on the part of change agents will suffice. The failure of such attempts does not seem to discourage these outsiders from trying again and again. A cynic might be attempted to argue that policymakers and change agents do not really want the system to change, they only want to use it to further their own careers by stirring up the schools from time to time. Then, if they can point to little or no change occurring, that must surely mean they will require larger budgets to stir even harder next time.
