Ensuring that policies are rooted in sound research is an endeavour the European Union is pursuing for quite some time. Now, Member States agree to enshrine education policies in research, too. 

Research in education and training is a rich field that can provide formidable support to policy-making; it can point to alarming trends, like the Education and Training Monitor 2023 or the PISA results did in the recent past, but it can also suggest pathways to improve education systems and increase the very relevance of education to our societies. 

Promoted by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the conference Evidence-informed education, policy and practice took place on 6-7 February and set the course to ensure European education is evidence-informed, supporting policymakers in the development of policies and schools and teachers in their daily practice. 

The role of research and evidence is seen as a support to policy-making, complementing political views with data: this allows for a flexible approach which does not force policymakers to take scientific advice as the rule, but rather as a support. 

Part of the objectives of the conference was a cultural shift that could instill a culture of evidence-informed practice and policy and developing the corresponding competencies. It insisted on the need to improve brokerage between research and practice, a bridge that education stakeholders - like civil society organisations, social partners, practitioners, etc - can provide. Member States showed widespread support to this vision, which will hopefully lead to Council conclusions in May.

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