Why the evidence-based paradigm in early childhood education and care is anything but evident

Praxeological research is a necessary contribution to the research field in early childhood education and care, which is currently dominated by an evidence-based paradigm that tends to consider the measurement of predefined outcomes as the most valid form of research. We analyse the history of the evidence-based paradigm in the field of medicine and psychology and address the emerging insights learnt, indicating that ‘what works’ is not always valid evidence. We ask critical questions about the alleged superiority of quasi-experimental designs, and suggest that the evidence-based paradigm may be fundamentally undemocratic. The analysis provides a rationale for the unique contribution of praxeological research to the early childhood field. An experiment with participative research on early childhood with five groups of parents in Flanders illustrates that praxeological research is both very complex and rather unpredictable. Yet, it also sheds some light on what democratic research may be about.