This book examines 1980s educational reforms and their consequences for the 1990s, focusing on the Australian Labor Party government's policy response to conditions of economic scarcity. The first section addresses the broader economic, social, political, and ideological context of educational reform under Australian Labor governments, compared to Labor government developments in New Zealand (until 1990) and conservative government developments in the United States and Great Britain. The second section examines reconstructed notions of equality in the Labor Party, particularly the shift in emphasis from equal opportunity to equity and social justice. The third section reviews Labor's administrative and educational reforms through case studies of the Victorian, Western Australian, and New Zealand situations and discusses the federal Labor government's emerging national curriculum framework. Economic reductionism has become a dominating master narrative within state policy making in Australia. In opposition, these essays assert the valued tension between a center guaranteeing, in socially democratic ways, the essentials of life for all citizens, while celebrating life's richness, freedom, and diversity. Included are numerous references, notes on contributors, and an index. (MLH)