ABSTRACT
In Chapter 2, I drew attention to one of the paradoxes of school education: despite the myriad official rules there are relatively few that direct teachers’ classroom work. This is surprising given that the similarities among schools with respect to teaching practice are so striking that it seems as if most teachers are following the same set of rules. I attempt to explain this apparent paradox in terms of the nature of the relationship between regulations and teaching practice. I argue that inherent in the relationship between teaching and the rules which frame it, is a tendency to support the status quo which, ultimately, serves to undermine both diversity and reform.
