We’ve all heard or read it in some form: “This is evidence-based” or “The research says”. If a policy or practice in education is not based on evidence then, frankly, it doesn’t get a look in. Evidence is the new catchword in education. On the surface, that’s reassuring.

But this obsession requires scrutiny. Unchallenged claims of an evidence base leave stakeholders vulnerable to the ideological bias of those with vested interests. So where has this obsession with evidence come from?

Enthusiasm for evidence-based policy making in Australia has its roots firmly embedded in the United Kingdom and is derived from decision-making in medicine, known as evidence-based medicine.

In the UK and the US, principles of evidence-based medicine have been used by policy-makers and clinicians to treat illnesses. They have also been extended over time to allied health services and related social work and human service practice. In Australia, “evidence-based” policy making has become a feature of the way many government departments, education included, form their strategies and policy proposals.