ABSTRACT
In the current discussion of school improvement one of the main debates is about the place of innovation and transformation. We hear many calls today for the transformation of schooling; to reshape schools in some entirely new way, and for a greater role for innovation in improving schools (e.g. Cisco, 2010). The argument in this chapter is that we should be cautious about embracing transformation and its handmaiden, innovation, as the requirements for schooling. I take the view that the more promising avenue in terms of student outcomes, even broadly defined, would focus instead on improving existing school systems by focusing on better use of what we already know. This is not an argument against change but springs from the belief that a focus on innovation and transformation could distract us from what is both possible and desirable in order to pursue goals that may be desirable but are not very possible.
