Scientized Policy and Epistemic Authority in Global Education

Scientization operates as a mechanism of global education governance through which international organizations construct epistemic authority and shape educational policy legitimacy. This authority is institutionalized through standardized indicators, international assessments, and evidence-based frameworks that define credible educational knowledge and reform. International organizations have long navigated ideological disagreement and geopolitical competition, yet challenges to the liberal international order have not displaced their role in defining legitimate educational knowledge and reform. Through epistemic gatekeeping more than direct coercion, these organizations reinforce shared policy expectations and encourage cross-national isomorphism. These processes privilege quantifiable evidence, marginalize context-specific knowledge, and constrain educational policy alternatives.