Variations in educational policy outcomes have always been perceived as policy failures, and they are often associated with policymakers insensitivity to what is happening down at the grass roots level, and with implementers' inefficiency and non-compliance. Based on institutional theory, the nested layers theory in particular, and the Four "I"s theory introduce by Carol Weiss, this study tried to unfold the process of interpreting and translating the 1S1S policy into practice in the fully centralized and highly hierarchical system of education in Malaysia. Analysis found that despite possessing similar capacities, standardized budgets, and shared priorities, variation still occurs, and the policy still gets interpreted and translated differently at all levels. This process was found influenced by discrepancies of both individual policy agents and their organizations. In addition, the study revealed that in such a tight structure of organizations, effective policy communication is the key factor to ensure shared inspirations.
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