ABSTRACT
This chapter observes Carole Bacchi's insight that a definite process exists whereby an 'issue' becomes a policy problem, and that the very terms used in representing that problem actually help to define the solution. Policy responses to social problems result from some people responding to others in order to address the problem. Metaphors allow us to understand and imagine in ways a literal reading cannot, and inviting and encouraging listeners to imagine and see in particular ways is critical to the initial problem-setting phase of policy-making. The decision to reintroduce a modified form of tuition fees in the form of Higher Education Contribution Scheme in 1988 seemed to provide answers to a set of policy problems. Pedagogical metaphors assist with the task of clarification; heuristic metaphors are important for giving those attempting to be systematic and objective-they help explain ideas, and build policy and service delivery models; and constitutive metaphors frame discourses.
