| The present work is a case study of US-sponsored educational reform in Benin Republic after the country's change of political option from single party Marxism to democratic rule of law. The author uses complexity theory which claims that the link between cause and effect is difficult to trace, that change—planned or otherwise—unfolds in non-linear ways, and that creative solutions arise out of interaction under conditions of uncertainty, diversity and instability, to analyze the upstream policymaking and implementation processes of the reform. The study starts from the proposition that educational reforms generally fail because they are based on simplistic assumptions and suggests a theoretical model allying living systems, knowledge creation and system transfer to effect educational reform. The author concludes that although Benin reform presents the promise of a success story, it may be overwhelmed by the numerous obstacles which lay across its route and by the lack of local ownership of the reform movement. |
