Educational policies are the rules, guidelines, and/or boundaries that have shaped my career as a student, teacher, and, more recently, educational administrator . Throughout my career, I have not always questioned the reasons for the development of these policies. From the readings in this course, I began to examine the hows and whys of policymaking and understand the role of policy analysis in evaluating education policies over time. The role of the state, the role of the individual within the state, changes in political ideologies and the development of globalization have all had a direct impact on policy development and the directions that the education has taken over the last century. “Policies are therefore dynamic and interactive and not simply a set of instructions or intentions. They represent political compromises between conflicting images of how educational change should unfold. (Taylor, Rizvi, Lingard and Henry, 1997, p. 15) What is the meaning/purpose of a policy? As Taylor (1997) says, “a policy is a plan of action”, and more specifically a public policy is a plan of action developed on behalf of the state to guide individuals. In practice, policies are state responses to an identified problem. I believe that understanding the objective of a public policy is only half the battle, it is equally important to be able to identify whether a particular policy is necessary, is effective, is transparent in its objective, therefore, public policies must be constantly analyzed. and careful scrutiny. This essay will examine the “what is the problem” approach to policy analysis, as defined by Bacchi (1999). I think this approach makes sense when looking at education policy. Ask q...... middle of paper ......2004). The magic mirror: An investigation into the purposes of education. Journal of Educational Policy, 19(4), 515-528. Smith, W. and Lusthaus, C. (1995). The link between equality and quality in education: a framework for debate. Canadian Journal of Education, 20(3), 378-391. Retrieved October 22, 2008 from http://www.csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE20-3-11Smith.pdf Taylor, S., Rizvi, F., Lingard, B. and Henry, M. (1997) . The political phenomenon. Educational policy and the politics of change (pp. 1-21). London: Routledge. Thomas, S. (2004). Reconfiguration in the public sphere; implications for educational policy analyses. British Journal of Educational Studies, 52(3), 228-248. Torres, C. (1996). The state and education revisited: why education researchers should think politically about education. Review of educational research: 1995-1996 (pp. 255-331). .: AERA.