The increasing importance of schools and learning in the changing patterns of work and society is widely recognized. However, implementing and sustaining educational reforms pose major problems in all countries. This paper briefly: (1) summarizes conceptual trends in implementing educational change, (2) reviews the complexities of educational policy and the changing patterns of educational governance and management common to many countries, (3) discusses the evolving roles of researchers in this shifting environment, and (4) makes an argument for the utility of certain kinds of research and evaluation or what the author calls "little r," with particular attention directed toward the contribution of little r in developing schools as learning organizations.