Globalizing processes in education are reflected in conceptions of "policy borrowing" and knowledge transfer. These processes tend to be associated with the notion of "developed" and "undeveloped" countries. The idea of a direct-line transfer may be limited in that each nation has developed a culture and numerous subcultures over long periods, which makes it different from those of even its closest neighbors. Therefore, in policy borrowing, nations may borrow elements of policy and institutional practices from other countries that may turn out to be incongruent with their own cultural traditions and cultural context and produce results that may diverge from the expected results in the donor culture's experiences. Attempted transfers of innovations in such complex areas as education and educational leadership may be more complex than those foreseen in planning processes. The complexity in such intercultural educational transfers of policy, institutional arrangements, knowledge, and practice may not be comprehended fully (Bauman, 1998). Issues of what can be transferred--divergent institutional and cultural contexts and practices--may complicate what many may assume is a simple, straightforward process. In this article, the author discusses the Macedonian situation on how the Republic of Macedonia decided to modernize its entire educational system to facilitate entrance into the European Union. The Ministry of Education and Science chose to use a Slovenian model of educational reform to professionalize the entire leadership corps of directors/principals of all the schools in the nation using the Secondary Education Activities (SEA) project of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) in Macedonia as the organizing vehicle. This article is based on documents such as legislation and regulations developed by the Ministry of Education and Science and interviews with ministry officials involved, SEA and USAID officials and consultants, primary and secondary directors and teachers, Boards of Education, mayors and their administrators, deans of education, and faculty members of universities. Those interviewed included members of both Macedonian and Albanian communities. In modernizing its entire educational system, the author describes some problems the republic has encountered. Here, the author shows how policy borrowing and knowledge transfer from one nation to another are indeed considerably more complex processes than they may appear from first glance.