Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world, formal schooling is frequently following rather than leading. The impression is given by central government that the education system serves as a 'thermostat' restoring society's settings in areas such as productivity, citizenship, health, sexual mores and behaviour. Educational reform over the last twenty years has clarified an existing educational process, reformatted the financial management of schools and resuscitated the inspection system. It has not, however, laid the foundations of a world-class future responsive educational system.

Shaping a New Educational Landscape brings together writers considering a wide range of possibilities for future development in education and society from different perspectives. Exploring alternative scenarios and strategies, they are not engaged in making accurate predictions but in unsettling present thinking and stimulating discussion. Together they form a fascinating contribution to the growing debate about how we might generate an educational process that will sponsor new economic paradigms and create a bold participative society on the new global stage.