The role of research in the educational policy evaluation process

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the role of research in the process of evaluating educational policies, especially evaluations of a formative and plural character, which educational policies sometimes lack and which, contradictorily, constitute an important strategy for reading concrete realities in which the education policy materializes. To this end, we seek to bring, for a brief and not exhausted analysis, elements for the study of research in the educational area, with emphasis on qualitative research and, specifically, the approach of the Policy Cycle formulated by Stephen Ball and collaborators. The research is defined as qualitative, exploratory and bibliographic, and includes among the theoretical references that support André (2001), Arretche (2013) and Mainardes (2006). In this construction, the Policy Cycle is pointed out as a possibility to carry out evaluations of educational policies that are socially engaged and committed to investigating the impacts of educational and social inequalities.