The purpose of this fourth volume of the International Handbook of Educational Change is to locate school improvement within a theoretical and practical framework, to illustrate the challenges facing school improvement strategies from a policy context, to demonstrate the evolution of a range of school improvement strategies in recent times, and through reports of recent research to challenge the assumptions underlying contemporary school improvement approaches. These concerns are reflected in the four major sections of the book: Towards a Theory of School Development; The Contemporary Context of School Improvement; Tensions and Contrasts in School Improvement Strategies; and The Effectiveness of School Improvement Strategies. Like other volumes in the series, this book brings together evidence and insights on educational change issues from leading writers and researchers in the field from across the world.