Transforming Education: Lessons from Around the World

How countries across the globe have transformed schools, and how policymakers can turn resistance into momentum for change.

Is it possible to transform something as vast, complex, and politically entrenched as education? In Transforming Education, Andreas Schleicher answers that question with evidence and hope. Lack of progress in education, he says, cannot be explained simply by a lack of resources or of promising policy initiatives. Drawing on his experience assessing reform efforts across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa, he offers insights and practical guidance on how policymakers can transform their educational systems and turn resistance into momentum for change.

Schleicher explores why some education reforms ignite change, while others vanish without a trace. Real change, he shows, requires understanding the politics of change as deeply as the pedagogy. Looking at education systems in countries as different as Estonia and Viet Nam, he shows how policymakers can create transformative change in education systems wired for stability; manage the asymmetries between costs and benefits in educational reform; and secure success beyond electoral cycles.