This book addresses central themes from the international educational agenda through the case of a key emerging economy of Central Asia, Kazakhstan. The central themes include: the post-Soviet and Kazakh legacies in educational institutions, thought and practice, the internationalisation of educational policy and practice and 'policy borrowing', change processes in national educational systems and obstacles to such change, the leadership of change at school level, professional culture and its development. The chapters are by leading figures from inside and outside Kazakhstan who are involved in the reform process as well as researchers currently engaged in investigating these processes.