This proposal is related to both theme 3 and 4 in Network 23's Call for papers.An increasing number of attempts to restructure and deregulate education in various parts of the world are seen in the past decade (Whitty, Power and Halpin 1998). In this paper we will discuss the relation between policy reforms and governing tools in education. New governing and regulating tools are influenced by neo liberalism. However, this is not to say that it can be identified a distinct European trend of educational reforms. Although, the programs appear to share common traits such as deregulation, decentralization, customer's freedom of choice and managerialism, there are differences between countries. The underlying ideology seems to be decreasing governing by making the governed objects more responsible. The rhetoric is very much the same but the content of the policy may differ. To reveal the implications of new liberal governing tools which aim to regulate education, it is important to explore the relation between reforms and governing techniques. A cross national study is a research method to get beyond the level of policy rhetoric and to exam specific national implications. Currently, we are in the beginning of a research project comparing educational reforms in Norway, Sweden and Great Britain. Great Britain belongs to a different welfare state model and have different traditions in education policy compared to the two Scandinavian countries, which share a range of economic, cultural, social and political features (Esping Andersen 1990). All the same, the neo- liberal way of governance seems to dominate the reforms in the three countries. There is a tendency to give more autonomy to the local level in decentralising tasks and responsibilities to the municipalities and the schools. On the other hand, an opposite tendency is the central authority's intensification in developing tools for controlling schools activities. In addition, there seems to appear new forms of political processes. The specific "governance" perspective in the public policy field stresses the transition from government (hierarchy and commando) to governance and horizontal policy networks (Pierre 2000, Pierre and Peters 2000, Rhodes 1997). The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we will compare the relations between political reforms and tools in the three countries. Secondly, we will develop hypothesis and discuss some implications the new tools may have on the autonomy for the teachers and school leaders.The development in the education sector points both to the question of efficiency and to the question of legitimacy and the citizen's right of freedom of choice. Demonstrating new governing principles and tools in the three countries' education policy, and how they are interacting with the different levels of authority, actors and networks, we argue that these policies imply possibilities for new kinds of influence on education. The relation between politics and knowledge is reconstructed (Dean and Hindess 1998). We talk about a change from policies based on scientific knowledge to policies based on management techniques such as budgeting, contracting, evaluation and control. Traditionally, the legitimacy of professional knowledge and autonomy in education has been strong. The new liberal reforms stress efficiency and demand new forms of legitimacy. From being in a state of self-legitimating, the professions in education currently have to legitimate themselves by producing well performing pupils. Accordingly, the tools seem to be the core issue to examine the change in professional autonomy.