Introduction: A Comparative Network Analysis of Knowledge Use in Nordic Education Policies -- What is in a Reference? Theoretically Understanding the Uses of Evidence in Education Policy -- Exploring the Architecture of Policy Knowledge: A Methodological Note -- Policy Borrowing and Evidence in Danish Education Policy Preparation. The Case of the Danish Public School Reform of 2013 -- Evidence and Expert Power in Finnish Education Policy Making: The 2010‒2016 National Core Curriculum Reform -- The Irregular Formation of State Policy Documents in the Icelandic Field of Education 2013‒2017 -- Structuring School Reform Policy With Evidence: The Inter-Mediational Role of Knowledge Sources and Arguments -- The Complexity of Context in Legitimating National School Reforms: The Case of Sweden -- 1. Evidence-based Policymaking in Nordic Countries: Different Settings, Different Practices? -- How Much is Policy Advice Changed and Lost in Political Translation? -- The OECD and the Field of Knowledge Brokers in Danish, Finnish, and Icelandic Education Policy -- Regional Policy Spaces, Knowledge Networks and the “Nordic Other” -- On Evidence, Impact, and Layers in Education Policy Processes -- Evidence-Based Policy Making and Educational Reform in Nordic Europe: Main contributions of the POLNET Study -- Conclusion: Toward a Renewed Understanding of Evidence-Based Policy in Education.

Open Access

This open access book explores how policy makers draw on national, regional and international expertise in issuing school reform within five Nordic countries. In an era of international comparison, policy makers are expected to review best practices, learn from experiences from elsewhere, and apply international standards propelled by international organizations. Do they do so? What counts, for them, as evidence and expertise? The chapters draw methodologically on bibliometric data, network analysis, document analysis and expert interviews. They show compellingly how governments use “evidence” strategically and selectively for agenda setting and policy decisions. This book will be of interest and value to scholars of education policy, specifically within the Nordic region, and international and comparative education.