I will use two case studies of further training for vocational school teachers and social workers as a basis to develop my arguments around change in educational practice. The EU Lisbon-strategy towards the knowledge society has been enhancing a serious of reforms in the field of education in Germany. When transformed into national education policy these reforms produced new was of talking (and thinking) about education. Taking Germany as an example and focusing on two selected cases I will show," which mechanisms are adapted to change educational practice " how they challenge the identity of the educational staff (teachers, social workers ...) " how they simplify the general idea of education and" de-value educational work, while they " implement new forms of control (and power).These changes can be made visible by an discourse analysis, drawing on Foucaults central questions: who is talking and determining the discourse? Which are the dominating topics? Which statements are generally accepted? Which questions are in the focus, which are marginal? Which are excluded? While the discourse analysis is a proper tool to trace changes in policy and practice, with reference to the field of education there are no simple conclusions to be drawn. The analysis leads directly to the dialectics of economy and education, liberty and force, which is inherent to a reflective pedagogical practice.