The conditions of education - globalization and local plurality. Taking some of my previous research as a point of departure, in this inaugural lecture I want to formulate a conception of education that reflects some principles that are specific for the period starting with the Educational Reform 1991. With gradual displacements this reform is still going on. Through an analysis of three different arenas within a framework of curriculum theory; the society arena, the governing- and curricula arena, and the arena of the local school and classroom, it is possible to characterize these arenas in terms of internationalization, management by demand and control, and individual choice. It may be argued that this is a new conception of education; a denationalized – instrumental conception. The national education arena becomes denationalized in two ways: globally there is an increasing influence by transnational organizations (and corporations); and locally, the privatization of schools has been extensive. The conception is instrumental in its basic assumption that there is a fairly simple connection between clearly expressed demands and the productivity of school.