Citizenship under fire: democratic education in times of conflict

researchers (outsiders) and policy-makers (insiders) is largely dictated by those within the policy process. At the end of the day, learning is hard work, often uncomfortable and disconcerting, and requires a degree of self-reflection and honesty – in other words, it is not always all that attractive, and for the powerful, anything but the natural thing to do. As various contributors note, unless there are actors, incentives and structural mechanisms embedded in the policy machinery that help to enforce a more outward-looking, reflective approach to the process of devising and implementing reform, the likelihood is that such an approach will not materialise. In many other education and training systems, one stimulus for reflection is the countervailing power of other stakeholders, an influence more or less totally absent here. Perhaps the most depressing aspect of this volume is that it covers a single instance of failure to learn. Others that might be adduced might include vocational qualifications more generally, the work-based route/apprenticeship, performance management systems in education and training, the use of targets, and the role of employers within publicly-funded training. It will be very interesting to reread this book in a decade’s time and see if the Diplomas have been able to buck the trend that it so skilfully dissects.