The children's green paper, for example, makes no reference to policy and practice in other countries, even if some of its best ideas (such as a children's commissioner) came from abroad. Nor is there much pressure on government to take cross-national evidence seriously. Comparative social policy has been surprisingly disengaged from contemporary debates, often involving too much theoretical abstraction and not enough gritty reality.
It is not easy to learn from others. Social, political and cultural contexts can be so different that it is often difficult to make straightforward comparisons. Policy and practice in other countries can rarely be simply imported; they have to be shaped to fit with our own circumstances.
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