ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to familiarize readers with some of the major elements that make up the education system and exert influence on the school and teachers in the classroom. It provides a brief introduction to the context in which schools and teachers are now required to function. The chapter examines the relationships between them and offers some speculative and tentative interpretations on their roles and contribution to the education system. It conveys a sense of the wider developing educational scene to set the context for the authors' discussion on the areas that teachers themselves still have considerable power to influence. Central and local government have worked in partnership to provide a framework and context in which education takes place. The chapter looks at the means by which influence is potentially brought to bear on educational practice by educational organizations and institutions.