Running up the 'down' escalator.

The article presents information about a conceptual framework for exploring the problems that generate changes to the education system. This framework is used to highlight the recent policy initiatives by central government, which are intended to address problems and are concurrently creating additional problems. This article argues that a new factor in educational change in Britain is the extent to which central government is not only trying to address these tensions and mismatches, but is also actively increasing them, making the management of change onerous for all concerned.