Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to shed light on changes in the Malaysian education system, with particular reference to the development of Smart Schools, and to evaluate progress with respect to knowledge management in school education. Design/methodology/approach: The research is designed around questionnaires based on a knowledge management conceptual framework administered to random samples of 50 teachers in 25 Smart Schools and 25 Non-Smart Schools so as to be able to make comparisons. Findings: The findings provide evidence relating to a number of factors in knowledge management, its importance, the methods of managing knowledge, knowledge activities, barriers to knowledge management and factors contributing to knowledge management. Originality/value: The originality of the paper lies in its Malaysian context and the lack of research into knowledge management in the field of education in general. (Contains 10 tables.)