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Outcome-Based Education (OBE) is a widely recognised approach to curriculum reform in higher education. This study investigates the level of understanding of OBE among tertiary teachers of English in Indonesia and explores the challenges that hinder, and the factor that support for the implementation of OBE in their classrooms. A total of 632 English teachers from 31 provinces in Indonesia participated in an online survey that comprised closed- and open-ended questions. The study employed descriptive statistics using SPSS 28 and thematic analysis using NVivo 12 to analyse the data. The findings reveal that most teachers feel confident in their understanding of OBE, but their understanding is not comprehensive. Teachers who implement OBE face significant challenges primarily due to self-related factors, including traditional views of a teacher-centred approach to teaching, heavy workloads, lack of awareness about OBE, and limited commitment and willingness to implement OBE. They also encounter difficulties in developing appropriate learning outcomes, teaching strategies, learning materials, and assessment tools. The strong commitment of university leaders is considered the most crucial factor for the success of OBE implementation. This article concludes with implications and recommendations for university leaders, government officials, curriculum developers and future researchers.

In this analytical contemplation, the following points are covered: The origins of ‘soft power’ as a concept related to international relations and its applicability in education. Soft power resources: persuasion, strategic narrative, credibility, attraction. How the accumulation of these resources enhances power and authority. In the previous chapter, Adrian refers to the use of ‘soft power’ as a means to achieve his goals. We all recognise this term and have probably used it in conversation to explain how and why an event happened and who exerted such power. Although this term is often used in diplomacy and international relations, it is applicable to us when we examine relationships and wielding of power in education. According to Nye (2008), soft power is a type of constructive engagement and “rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others” (p. 95). It is associated with “assets such as attractive personality, culture, political values, institutions, and policies that are seen as legitimate or having moral authority” (p. 95). Soft power is a complex idea (Durrani, 2023, p. 2) and has been used in various ways and, at times, finds itself “stretched and twisted” (Nye, 2006, p. 140). However, what we can say with a degree of certainty is that the use of soft power does not draw on coercion or force but utilises irresistible narratives and credible and attractive reputations and builds collaborative networks (Durrani, 2023; McClory, 2015).

The Introduction explains why the book is a ‘first’ in education literature. The chapter provides background information on how the idea of writing such a text came about, an explanation on the scope and limitations of the book and how the book is structured.

This chapter provides an overview of theories of power, authority and legitimacy. It covers key theorists and thinking, particularly from the twentieth century. Seminal figures such as Max Weber, Joseph Nye, Pierre Bourdieu and Thomas Hobbes are briefly covered. The chapter also points out the confusion and conflation of terms in literature on power, rendering the area as problematic.

This analytical contemplation is based on my case study in the previous chapter and briefly investigates the following: The power of tradition: how organisational/pedagogical, epistemological and curricular traditions constitute power. The key mechanisms of filiation, persistence and routinisation. Specific changes to English as a subject established in the early twentieth century. Power as manifested in different typologies, including Nyberg’s (1981) force, finance, fiction and fealty. Historical notions of childhood as the basis of contemporary views on childhood and their continued presence in contemporary curriculum documents. The gap between the rhetoric contained in documents, which outline the ‘big picture’ aims of education, and the actual experience of some students, as captured by the young girl who told me she was ‘scared’ of NAPLAN.

This chapter explains case study as a research methodology and why it is appropriate for this book. The chapter identifies key features of the case study relevant to this book.

In the previous chapter, “Having clear guiding principles generates its own power”, Adrian provides a series of principles which helped to guide his actions and programme of reform as minister for education. In the following analysis, I refer to several incidents Adrian recounts, focusing on the following: The difference between ‘power to’, ‘power with’ and ‘power over’ and how these matter in the exercise of power. The formation of a ‘dominant coalition’ to drive change. The importance of phronesis (practical wisdom) to effect change. Resisting change - how different ‘cultures’ of resistance are evident in education.

At the outset of this book, we noted the confused and contested definitions of power and authority, the overlaps, conflations and contradictions. In this final chapter, I draw together some of the insights gleaned from compiling and reflecting on our experiences in education. My aim is not to attempt a definitive statement about power and authority in education but to document some thoughts that may provoke discussion and further research into this area. And, in doing so, I also hope to illuminate aspects of power and authority to enable the reader to identify the features of both and, where possible, use these insights in their own interactions with individuals and groups.

In the previous chapter “Schools, power and books”, I describe several scenarios where power and authority are being exercised in some way or another. In this analytical contemplation, the following key points are discussed: The power of books in relation to media controversies, text selection and the place of Australian literature in schools. Weber’s tripartite power typology and schools. Curriculum and literature as mechanisms for cultural transmission. Books can be controversial. From John Della Bosca’s authority as an elected government minister to disputes in a book selection committee or the recount of a complaint from a parent about a novel promoting friendship and compassion, each scenario involves a complex network of social interactions and relationships shaped by context, self-identities, self-importance and regulatory practices.

In previous chapters, we have seen how the accumulation of power resources has enabled the holder to retain and exert power and authority. Resources such as possessive and associative authority, credibility, persuasion, strategic narrative, for example, have allowed the holder to generate trust with and between others and, ultimately, generate authority and power. In this analytical contemplation, I explore how power and authority are manifested through specific discourses anchored in the following: The power of ‘evidence-based’ discourses in education and ‘what works’. The power of the ‘datafication’ of education and some of its effects. Problems and challenges associated with ‘evidence-based’ and the datafication of education.

In this analytical contemplation, I explore Adrian’s experiences through the lenses of the following: Symbolic power as a potent version of power in education. Power in the form of capital: economic, social and cultural.

Presented as a series of case studies, this book offers the reader an insider’s account of the power dynamics in Australian education and how the application of that power influences education policymaking. The authors, Adrian Piccoli and Don Carter, have been in the room when some of the biggest decisions in Australian education have been made. This book traverses various theories of power and authority to explore the selected experiences of the authors who come from opposing sides of the political spectrum (a former National Party minister for education and a former teacher, union member and left-leaning academic) to share a behind-the-scenes story of education in Australia not readily available to the public. The chapters capture their personal experiences in senior education leadership roles, where they made key decisions on diverse topics such as how to allocate multibillion-dollar education budgets, the split of school funding between education sectors, contentious curriculum decisions and other policy and political objectives. Drawing on organisational theory, international relations and education, a variety of resources such as hard and soft power, credibility, persuasion and notions of capital are used to make sense of their experiences in education. Through this, the authors explain who has the biggest influence over those decisions and why these complex power dynamics, when not used properly, can mean that the best interests of students are not always at the heart of the decision-making process. Written for teachers, school leaders and other education professionals, this book presents a rare insight into power and authority in the Australian education system.

In this chapter, Don recounts an encounter with a senior manager as an example of ‘hardnosed’ education - where collaborative work between two education agencies was criticised by this senior manager. In contrast, Don also recounts a comment from a ten-year-old girl, who was scared of the NAPLAN tests. He uses this to comment on the ‘gulf’ between the rhetoric of education documents which set out aims and goals but do not reflect the ‘lived experience’ of students in schools and the regimes of testing and assessment.