This blog post is based on a recent article published in the British Educational Research Journal entitled ‘Towards a mechanism for expert policy advice in education’ (Skerritt, 2023). The article addresses the issue of academic expertise being marginalised in education policymaking and proposes a way of making policy that makes better use of academic expertise. Specific reference is made to policymaking in the UK and to the education ministry in England.
The article draws on my experiences of working with policymakers. It sets out to develop knowledge and understanding of policymaking and to generate conversations among academics about expert policy advice in education – the accumulation of which may eventually lead us towards better policymaking. The following are discussed: the disconnect between academic research and policy; what good policy advice looks like; and, most significantly, what an expert policy advice mechanism in education could look like.
