Educational reform is a complex and lengthy process, involving individuals at all levels of the system. A considerable amount is known about the management of educational change in developed countries, but there has previously been little research to guide those in less developed countries. The How Schools Improve study is based on research carried out by the World Bank and IMTEC from 1987 to 1992, which was set up specifically to learn from reform successes rather than failures in order to provide clear advice for policy and practice. The report is based on detailed study of 31 primary schools in Colombia, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, all placed in their regional and national contexts. This fieldwork is presented in three chapters, each of which summarizes the findings in one of these countries. There are details of the process of change in the form of case studies for particular schools and discussions of prospects for the future. The book goes on to analyse the findings in the field and to use this analysis in providing a programme for the implementation of reform and its development. How Schools Improve is an essential guide to policy planning and implementation. It will be of enormous interest and value, internationally, to academics, head-teachers and administrators who are involved in school improvement.
