The Post-Truth Tyrannies of an Evidence-Based Hegemony

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca

A trend toward evidence-based practice has become a powerful hegemonic force in education policy and practice across the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. The article examines how mandates of a narrow evidence base function as a symptom of the post-truth condition, elevating limited evidence to an infallible position. Using interviews with practicing teachers and critical discourse analysis, it analyzes the homogenizing, tyrannical effects of “what works” and “evidence-based” discourses through a Gramscian lens of consent, coercion, and cultural hegemony.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

The Post-Truth Tyrannies of an Evidence-Based Hegemony

Evidence-based practice as hegemony

Consent, coercion, and cultural dominance

Teachers in an “impossible bind”

SPECIAL ISSUE Teachers and Educational Policy: Professionalism, Expertise and Choice in an Age of Populist Politics education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University | Volume 30 Number 95 | July 12, 2022 | ISSN 1068-2341 | | --- | --- | --- | The Post-Truth Tyrannies of an Evidence-Based Hegemony Stephanie Wescott Monash University Australia Citation: Wescott, S. (2022). The post-truth tyrannies of an evidence-based hegemony. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 30(95). [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6178](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6178) This article is part of the special issue Teachers and Educational Policy: Markets, Populism, and Im/Possibilities for Resistance, guest edited by Meghan Stacey, Mihajla Gavin, Jessica Gerrard, Anna Hogan , and Jessica Holloway. Abstract: A trend towards evidence-based practice has developed in policy and practice in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia in recent years, evolving to become a powerful hegemonic force. This paper considers this latest impetus to teach according to the mandates of a narrow evidence base as a symptom of the post-truth condition, one that elevates a limited body of evidence to an infallible position. Drawing on interviews with practicing teachers and critical discourse analysis of policy texts, this paper explores the homogenizing effects of a tyrannical evidence-based movement, using Antonio Gramsci’s (1971) writing on the relationship between consent, coercion , and the maintenance of cultural hegemony. This paper argues that the contemporary policy landscape obtains consent from teachers to accept its claims through a coercive paradigm built from a powerful set of hegemonic discourses, such as “what works” and “evidence-based.” These discourses, this paper suggests, need to be considered within the current post-truth context, where the dismissal of research claims is akin to scientific skepticism; a dynamic that places teachers in an impossible bind where the evidence underpinning policy is protected by a paradigm that makes it difficult to question. Keywords: post-truth; education policy; evidence-based practice; hegemony Las tiranías de la posverdad de una hegemonía basada en la evidencia Resumen: En los últimos años se ha desarrollado una tendencia hacia la práctica basada en la evidencia en la política y la práctica en el Reino Unido, los EE. UU. y Australia, que ha evolucionado hasta convertirse en una poderosa fuerza hegemónica. Este artículo considera este último impulso para enseñar de acuerdo con los mandatos de una base de evidencia estrecha como un síntoma de la condición de posverdad, que eleva un cuerpo de evidencia limitado a una posición infalible. Basándose en entrevistas con docentes y análisis crítico del discurso de textos políticos, este artículo explora los efectos homogeneizadores de un movimiento tiránico basado en la evidencia, utilizando los escritos de Antonio Gramsci (1971) sobre la relación entre el consentimiento, la coerción y el mantenimiento de la hegemonía cultural. Este artículo argumenta que el panorama político contemporáneo obtiene el consentimiento de los docentes para aceptar sus afirmaciones a través de un paradigma coercitivo construido a partir de un poderoso conjunto de discursoshegemónicos, como “lo que funciona” y “basado en evidencia”. Este artículo sugiere que estos discursos deben ser considerados dentro del contexto actual de la posverdad, donde el rechazo de las afirmaciones de la investigación es similar al escepticismo científico, una dinámica que coloca a los docentes en un aprieto imposible donde la evidencia que sustentala política está protegida por un paradigma. eso hace que sea difícil de cuestionar. Palabras clave: posverdad; política educativa; la evidencia se basa en la practica; hegemonía As tiranias da pós-verdade de uma hegemonia baseada em evidências Resumo: Uma tend

FAQs

What does the paper argue about evidence-based practice in education policy?

It argues that evidence-based practice has evolved into a hegemonic force, treating a narrow evidence base as infallible and shaping policy through coercive discourses.

How does the author analyze the effects of evidence-based movements?

The analysis draws on interviews with practicing teachers and critical discourse analysis of policy texts, interpreted through Antonio Gramsci’s ideas about consent, coercion, and cultural hegemony.

Why are teachers placed in an “impossible bind” according to the paper?

Because the evidence underpinning policy is protected by a paradigm that makes it difficult to question, and dismissing research claims is framed like scientific skepticism.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca