Evidence-Based Education - The (Not So Simple) Case of French-Speaking Belgium

Oct 15, 2026

Educational reform in French-speaking Belgium is examined through a narrative case study of the Pact for Educational Excellence, focusing on how evidence-based education (EBE) can be integrated where qualitative research strongly shapes practice. The study analyzes reform stages and successive involvement of a research center, beginning consultation processes to guide educational decisions and programs. Findings highlight three implementation levers, noting full achievement for one and potential time savings for the other two via EBE work in the U.S. and UK.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

Findings

Keywords

Introduction

Evidence-based education context

French-speaking Belgium and reform drivers

Evidence-based education

Evidence-Based Education: The (Not So Simple) Case of French-Speaking Belgium Dylan Dachet University of Li`ege Ariane Baye University of Li`ege ECNU Review of Education 2021, Vol. 4(1) 164–189 ª The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/2096531120928086](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120928086)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120928086)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: Taking the case of educational reform in French-speaking Belgium (the Pact for Educational Excellence), this article aims to describe the process of integrating evidence-based education (EBE) into an educational reform within a country where the influence of qualitative research is important. Design/Approach/Methods: A narrative case study was conducted to analyze and understand the stages of the ongoing educational reform process and the successive involvements of our research center in the work of this reform. Inspired by the paradigm of EBE, we initiated both the consultation processes intended to set the direction of educational decisions and programs. Findings: According to Slavin (2017, 2019), providing educator-friendly reviews, making available a broad range of proven education programs, and providing resources to help schools to implement proven programs are levers for implementing evidence-based reform within an educational system. This article shows that one of the three levers is fully met. For the other two, work being done on EBE in the U.S. and the UK in particular can save us time. Corresponding author: Ariane Baye, Centre for Analysis and Interventions in the fields of Dropout and Exclusion (AIDE), University of Li`ege, Li`ege 4000, Belgium. Email: [ariane.baye@uliege.be](ariane.baye@uliege.be) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Originality/Value: This article highlights concrete actions that will ensure the gradual establishment and acceptance by political and educational actors of an evidence-based reform. Keywords Belgium, education system reform, evidence-based Date received: 27 November 2019; accepted: 23 April 2020 Introduction Since the beginning of the 21st century, many political and state institutions have drawn on the results of fundamental research, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, to guide decision-making processes or support for public action (Quéré, 2017) . Inspired by the paradigms of the biomedical sciences, evidence-based education (EBE) reflects this trend by providing practitioners and actors in the world of education with programs whose effectiveness has been proven in methodologically rigorous scientific studies. In French-speaking Belgium, the OECD’s findings on the basis of the data from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are incontestable: In addition to the fact that this part of Belgium ranks among the low-performing industrialized countries (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2016), its education system tends to increase the differences among students according to their socioeconomic status (Demeuse, 2005; Demeuse et al., 2005; Lafontaine et al., 2019) . Under pressure from these results of international surveys, there has been a sense that an in-depth reform of the education system is needed. Historically, however, French-speaking Belgium has drawn little if

FAQs

What reform case does the article focus on?

It focuses on educational reform in French-speaking Belgium, specifically the Pact for Educational Excellence, and how evidence-based education can be integrated into that reform.

How was the research conducted?

A narrative case study was conducted to analyze the stages of the ongoing reform and the successive involvement of the authors’ research center.

What are the key levers for implementing evidence-based reform identified in the findings?

The findings cite Slavin’s levers: providing educator-friendly reviews, making a broad range of proven education programs available, and providing resources to help schools implement those proven programs.

Oct 15, 2026

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