ABSTRACT
The history of educational reform is a rather gloomy one with innovations proposing changes in teachers’ practices and beliefs failing many more times than they succeed. In many cases teachers either reject the innovation outright or profess commitment to the innovation but in reality carry on as before. This chapter examines the nature of the change process and identifies those factors that have been found to influence the implementation of educational innovations and ELT projects in particular. A case study of the implementation of an EFL innovation in Greek public secondary schools is presented in order to exemplify the combination of factors that inhibited the educational reform process. It is believed that awareness of and sensitivity to these factors by educational policy makers may prevent duplication of some mistakes of the past and allow for the more successful planning, design and implementation of ELT innovations.
