ABSTRACT
Research, we are led to believe, offers us the most robust and objective lens through which to view school practice, policy and their interrelationship. However strong its methodological warrant and claims to validity, there is always the option to either dispute or disregard its findings. Cherry picking outcomes that have a more intuitive appeal is not only a very human response to findings, but also endemic in political decision making. Does research, even when commissioned by the government itself, have any impact on policy? How much of key decision making in government is based on policymakers’ own personal experience (or that of their children)? How much derives simply from their own values or prejudices? The Primary Review, the advisory panel on the curriculum, and the government-sponsored research on schools in exceptionally challenging circumstances all provide unambiguous answers to these questions. If governments can change schools, it proves not to be by giving credence to the nuanced, complex and contested findings of academics.
