Executive Summary

Educationalists have long sought an elusive “secret sauce” for implementing sustainable reforms. They point to innumerable cases of stalled educational change, which waste precious time, resources, and – most troublingly – human potential. The good news, however, is that innovators do not have to reinvent the wheel; there is much to learn from the struggles and successes of their peers around the world. Regardless of whether these insights can create a unified recipe for change, policymakers and practitioners alike would undoubtedly benefit from studying inspiring learnings across contexts.

This report explores whether cross-country research can help uncover a “secret sauce” for implementing sustainable education reform. It probes reform journeys across three nations (Finland, Portugal, and Canada) with a thorny question: what are the greatest barriers to, and the key enablers of, sustainable education reform? Analysis of expert interviews and diverse documents reveals five common barriers and three enabling actions, depicted below. Taken together, these insights form a reflective checklist for educationalists across the globe. With values, practicality, and agency at the forefront of reformers’ minds, they can craft thoughtful, enduring policies that prepare all children to thrive.