ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the three contributions to highlight some of the less 'official' sources of leadership and pressure. The first contribution is an original paper by John Brand who examines the contribution of the now defunct Schools Council and the professional centres/teachers' centres to the encouragement of change in the educational system of England and Wales. The second contribution, by Paul Lodge and Tessa Blackstone, examines the important, and ever changing, influence of the teachers' unions and associations, exemplified by the National Union of Teachers and one of the newer interest groups who work on the fringes of the system to encourage development along particular lines. The final paper is an original, and tentative, examination by Dan Wicksteed of the role of the media in decision making about the primary school curriculum. He concludes with a question: have you, as a member of the profession, something to contribute to the media as well as something to gain from them?.
