Education policy treats ‘evidence-based’ and science as unquestioned certainties.

Evidence

In education too, we have witnessed the emergence of new discourses of certainty. Funding agencies expect initiatives in education to be “evidencebased,” as if questions relating to what counts as evidence, for whom, in what ways, and under what circumstances require no further discussion. Science is frequently seen as the only legitimate arbiter on matters of educational debate, and developments such as “brain-based” education are promoted as the answer to a host of pedagogical problems. — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 871

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘evidencebased’ critique builds directly on ch2’s account of management pedagogies and the ch1 framing of neoliberal attacks on public education. — connects to: Contemporary culture is defined by exaggerated certainties that suppress critical hope. — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 870; Evidence-based advocacy fails when the political configuration is unready for it — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 9030
• SEED: Sharpening the question ‘evidence for whom, in what ways, under what circumstances’ could anchor an essay on the politics of evidence in pedagogy.

Broader Connections

• Evidence-based advocacy fails when the political configuration is unready for it #expands (0.78) — , The Rod and the Child, 9030