Exploding the myths of school reform

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive, accessible and strategic overview of what is currently known about school and system reform in the early twenty-first century. It reflects on the knowledge that has been acquired from research, policy and practice over the past three decades and presents it in a way that provides frameworks for action and practical strategies that educators can use to improve the learning and achievement of the students they serve. The use of the ‘myth’ as a narrative artifice provides a structure around which the argument of the paper is developed. The key point being that in education too many myths abound that are based on prejudice or tradition rather than evidence. It is this that primarily explains the failure of so many reform efforts. Identifying the 10 myths in the paper and then exploding them enables a realistic and increasingly precise and aligned approach to school reform to be presented.