Why is educational policy change needed?
Policy makers around the world have used the lead-up to the new millennium, with its elevated sense of fear, anxiety and excitement, to create, what Kotter (1996) refers to as ‘a sense of urgency’ to support the need for educational reform . The adoption of a neoliberal agenda by many Western nations, initially, brought with it reform initiatives, based on market-principles, such as decentralization, privatization and standardization (Hill & Kumar, 2009). In education, policy initiatives were sold based on their potential to address economic issues, prepare students to be competitive in a global work environment, and reduce inequities (Hill & Kumar, 2009). As educational researchers have discovered, over the past two decades, these reforms are beginning to increase both literacy and numeracy levels in Canada. However, inequities still exist. In fact, many critical researchers would argue that these reforms are actually causing an increase in student disengagement and an increase in the
