ABSTRACT
It is always a risky business putting together an article with a focus on ‘policy’ because of the time lag between research or data collection, writing, submission and eventual publication. If, in Harold Wilson’s terms, ‘a week is a long time in politics’, the publication gap for academics can be an eternity. New governments, or in some cases new ministers from continuing governments, often establish policies that announce their arrival, impose their ideologies and, for them, hopefully leave their mark on history. The articles in this issue illustrate the ways in which policies change with time and with changes in personnel at various levels in the political or professional spectrum. They also illustrate the ways in which different countries apply central, local or individually focused policies to promote and sustain the professional development of teachers.
