ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors address the belief that education reform has not delivered as proposed or promised in China. They question why and how reform efforts appear to have frustrated segments of the Chinese education community. The authors examine the connections, or lack thereof, within and between the reforms and with real life in schools. They outline the Chinese people's discontent with the educational reforms. The authors also outline the disconnection framework. They illustrate the five points of disconnection that they suggest may impede successful implementation of the reforms. They are Instrumental disconnection, Intellectual disconnection, Political disconnection, Cultural disconnection, Communicative disconnection. The authors suggest a number of key 'connection' challenges facing Chinese educators. The disconnection framework developed by A. Walker is used to examine the reform context in China. Instrumental disconnection refers to the disconnection between the demands of the reforms and the practical realities of teaching, learning and leading in schools.
