Navigating the Research-Policy Nexus: A Qualitative Analysis of Knowledge Utilisation in Kenyan Education Governance

The persistent gap between educational research and policy formulation in sub-Saharan Africa is widely acknowledged, yet the specific mechanisms through which research evidence is utilised within governance structures remain poorly understood. This study addresses this critical knowledge deficit. This study aimed to analyse how research-based knowledge is accessed, interpreted, and utilised by key actors within Kenya's national education governance system, and to identify the institutional and relational factors that shape this process. A qualitative, multi-site case study design was employed. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 28 purposively sampled senior officials from the Ministry of Education, the Teachers Service Commission, and parliamentary committee staff. Policy documents were analysed thematically alongside interview transcripts using a hybrid inductive-deductive approach. Analysis revealed a dominant theme of 'convenient alignment', where research was selectively utilised to legitimise pre-determined policy positions rather than to inform new directions. A significant finding was that over two-thirds of participants reported using research summaries produced by intermediary organisations as their primary source, bypassing original academic publications. The research-policy nexus in this context is characterised by instrumental and political modes of knowledge utilisation, heavily mediated by non-academic actors. This undermines the potential for research to critically inform policy innovation and entrenches existing power dynamics. Researchers should engage strategically with knowledge brokers and produce co-constructed, policy-relevant summaries. Policymaking institutions should establish formal research-engagement protocols and invest in capacity building for critical evidence appraisal amongst civil servants. knowledge mobilisation, evidence-informed policy, education governance, research utilisation, Kenya, qualitative case study This paper provides a novel analysis of the intermediary actors and 'knowledge brokering' practices that critically mediate the research-policy interface within a ministerial bureaucracy, a mechanism previously under-explored in the African context.