Abstract
One of the most striking points in Professor Thrupp's keynote is the degree to which school leaders in New Zealand seem to embrace, if not actively promote, privatisation in and around the state school system. Arguably, Japan has not fallen behind New Zealand with regard to the advancement of privatisation. In these contexts of New Zealand and Japan, the author is particularly interested in the ways principals and teachers make sense of privatisation. Given that privatisation is not straightforward in terms of idea, policies and practices, how can school staff gain the knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of privatisation? The author takes note of the discernment of principals and teachers that Professor Thrupp mentions in the last paragraph of his keynote speech. Certainly, education research has a role to play in the augmentation of their ability to discern, but the author is still wondering whether there could be other means that would offer effective solutions.
