In the context of a research project exploring policy transformation, I arrived at a local primary school, and found my way to the assembly hall. The hall was not full of children, but of all the principals from the schools run by the local government. The principals were seated in smaller groups around circular tables. They were summoned to one of the monthly strategy seminars arranged by the top management in the local government to discuss the implementation of a new comprehensive assessment system based on quantitative and qualitative data on pupils’ performance, general wellbeing, and attendance as well as teachers’ self- assessments of teaching, data on parent satisfaction, and so on. The sound of many voices filled the room, and it was impossible not to notice the enthusiasm of the managers. Around the tables, they were eager to display their dedication to the new assessment system and to voice their regrets that some staff members had not yet understood the importance of implementing it. However, at one point, a manager at one table paused and then, out of context, stated: ‘Actually, when I think about all the adverse consequences this will have for our children in the future, it sends a cold shiver down my spine.’

The refrain of this chapter is in those words: ‘it sends a cold shiver down my spine’. The statement conveys such a clear and unmistakable corporeal experience, yet it is not easily interpreted. There is no certain or obvious way of explaining why the principal felt a shiver down her spine at that point in the larger change process or at that point in the conversation.