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The analysis presented in this paper offers different examples of how timing issues have adversely affected a series of innovations in education and training. The term 'temporal discontinuity' is used since the problems cannot simply be characterised as 'undue rushing' or 'impatience on the part of policy makers'. Whilst over-hasty scheduling of innovation and a general shortage of time plays a part in the problems on which the paper focuses, it is suggested that the sequencing of design, piloting, evaluation and implementation can break down, falling out of adequate synchronisation. This is more complex than simple shortage of time; remedying this requires more than just an (often-called-for) slower pace in evaluating and implementing innovations. The paper uses three carefully-selected case studies from the English education system to illustrate significant variants of temporal discontinuity: the history of the Assessment of Performance Unit; the implementation of system-level reforms in academic and vocational qualifications for 18 year olds in 2000; and the history of General National Vocational Qualifications. The paper suggests that genuine reform and innovation are seriously impeded by problems resulting from temporal discontinuity. It also suggests that the problems are in part rooted in the timing of political cycles, and calls for a radical examination of the management of large-scale innovation in education and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Key Stage 3 Strategy is a complex and evolving government strategy intended to improve the education of 11- to 14-year-olds in England. This paper provides a snapshot of its development by early 2004, drawing on our evaluation of the pilot phase which began in 2000. The evolution of the Strategy, with its phased introduction of both subject and cross-curricular strands, is described. We then examine the policy intentions and evidence base which underpin it before considering what the Strategy offers in terms of curricular and pedagogical reform. While the Strategy seeks to improve schooling for 11- to 14-year-olds, it has struggled to offer a coherent approach, though recent changes in emphasis may help. We conclude that a more radical approach to the learning needs of 11- to 14-year-olds is needed and draw evidence from international trends in middle years education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pervasiveness of new technologies and their rapid spread around the globe belie the fact that educational leaders still struggle with how to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) in schools. This article describes the form of these struggles for a small group of Australian principals. Their stories emerged from a set of five longitudinal case studies of ICT integration in a range of Government schools in the state of New South Wales. During the three years over which the study was conducted, the difficulties associated with leading the integration of educational technologies in schools were common and recurring themes that emerged in interviews with principals. These cases reveal the local variations and specificities of ICT integration through a range of issues including infrastructure development, human resource development, curriculum design, pedagogical practices and futures oriented planning. In describing these issues, many of the effects of ICT integration in schools are discussed. One such effect is the requirement for principals to develop the skills of new knowledge workers, in particular they require access to knowledge and support that is sufficiently flexible to deal with immediate and practical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]