To reopen or not to reopen schools? political use of evidence during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The article analyzes the political use of evidence in the debate on the reopening of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic and its unfolding: the proposition of Bill nº 5595/2020 that prohibits the suspension of face-to-face classes in basic and higher education during pandemics and public calamities. Methodologically, we analyze the positions and evidence used by different actors, published in mainstream periodicals between January 2020 and July 2021. As the actors are contextualized and the evidence is confronted, the influence of political and economic interests becomes more explicit. That is, evidence is selected and filtered through a particular political lens to be used as ammunition for advocacy, to advance a reform agenda, and to convert rights into services. Our argument goes beyond the instrumentalism of the use of ‘policy-based evidence’ per se, moving on to the specific criteria used to validate and democratize the debate about knowledge, the political use of evidence, and the purposes of the policy in question. We conclude that evidence, representing informed knowledge, is one among other elements of a fair and democratic decision-making process.