This course is designed to introduce students to education policy, education policy debates, and some of the major issues facing Australian and international education policymakers. The course aims to increase students’ understanding of the complexities, advantages, and limitations of education policy and to assist students in becoming effective leaders and practitioners who inform, shape, and influence education policy. The course has a particular focus on federal and state policy in education, including the impact of education policy on schools and students; the interests of stakeholders in designing education policy; the theories of change underpinning education policy initiatives; the implementation challenges of policy approaches, and the impact of various reform strategies on building teaching capacity, accountability, and improving learning for all students. Students will develop “policy skills” through writing a policy brief and writing policy-based commentary analysing an aspect of one of the policy issues examined in this course.