Power struggle in education policy change: the role of knowledge actors in structural reforms in Chile

Abstract

This chapter explores the role that knowledge actors play in education policy reforms in a context characterised by the increasing participation and influence of external actors in education policy debates. Knowledge actors are defined as those who conduct traditional functions of scientific research and also translate evidence for policymaking. Our hypothesis states that strengthening the Chilean research and development (R&D) ecosystem between 2005 and 2015 allowed the emergence of new knowledge actors with the capacity to influence the design of education policies. In order to assess this hypothesis, we first analyse the sharp increase in R&D public funding occurring in Chile during that period, which notably expanded the number and quality of researchers and the capacity to produce research findings capable of potentially informing policymaking. Second, we analyse two education reforms. The first one, discussed in the initial years of the R&D expansion, was the Preferential Student Subsidy Law (2005–08); and the second one, the Inclusion Law (2014–15), was carried out after the increase in research capacity. We empirically analyse National Congress records that register the actors participating in public hearings to provide their professional expertise and opinions about the reforms. We find an abrupt increase in the participation of knowledge actors influencing policy debates in the second reform, as a result of the strengthening of the R&D ecosystem. We conclude that the state can benefit from the contribution made from a diverse and emergent array of knowledge actors that provide and mobilise evidence capable of better informing policy debates in education.