ABSTRACT
There has been an evidence revolution over the last thirty years. The revolution is most advanced in the health sector which has led the movement for evidence-based policy and practice. But the language of evidence now pervades all policy sectors, although it is used more or less appropriately in each. In health the evidence-based approach rests on a stronger, well-developed evidence architecture. Many other sectors are still in the early stages of building this architecture. After health, education is a sector we might expect to be at the forefront of the evidence movement. It is a major public policy area, important for national and individual wellbeing, accounts for a large share of government expenditure, and affects virtually the whole population. Moreover, there are clear outcomes, notably learning achievement, but also psychological and physical wellbeing and other more holistic measures of a child’s development. And schools present a well-defined location and clear administrative structure in which to test interventions. This chapter compares the state of the evidence architecture in the health and education sectors. After a brief overview of the evidence architecture, the chapter reviews the state of the evidence architecture in the two sectors. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of the chapter’s findings.
