ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an empirical analysis into the historical processes that resulted in the establishment of the concept of evidence-based education on European Union’s official political agenda. The evidence-turn in European education policy-making was not limited to the ideational level, but it had also more pervasive consequences for the distribution of symbolic power between competing groups of economic, academic and political education experts located on national and supranational levels. Amongst other things, the evidence-turn weakened the traditional national political sovereignty over education and enhanced the symbolic authority possessed by European Commission and its actions influencing groups of economic experts. Even more importantly, the introduction of evidence-based education has given rise to a new transnational social field that is dominated by economic rationalities and economic actors.
