Résumé
While the term "evidence based medicine" (EBM) was officially introduced in 1992 in the medical world, the evidence based practice approach to decision making has been adopted in other fields, particularly in education. But can we directly conceive of such research whose results will be implemented in the classroom?Knowing, understanding, evaluating and measuring educational methods and content are becoming major issues in the evolution and transformation of an educational system. The very idea of evaluating and measuring an educational system raises the question of the school we want and the society we want. Studying the methodology of evidence underlies a global reflection on education as such and on its goals. These are the major reflections that structure this thesis.The question that arises is not only that of the use of evidence in education, but rather of its conception, production, evaluation, use and purpose.In an attempt to answer these questions, and to illustrate the challenges, limitations, and benefits of this new paradigm, we evaluate pedagogical practices that are either not present or not very present in the public school institution. This is why the practices chosen here from which we attempt to illustrate the ins and outs of this subject of "evidence" in education concern alternative pedagogical practices, which have the common characteristic of considering the body and emotions in teaching. These are the outdoor classroom and yoga: two practices that are not widely used in French public education, and are therefore "alternative" in this sense, but are beginning to develop. Indeed, to illustrate the diversity of the insights and challenges of evidence-based practice evaluation in education, we conducted three evaluations concerning the integration of these two alternative practices in the Montpellier Academy: a questionnaire survey, an observational study and a quasi-experimental study corresponding for each study respectively to the first three levels of evidence considered in the pyramid of evidence. Very enlightening results were obtained from these different studies. We supplemented these experimental data with organized exchanges with specialists and experts in education. The objective was to structure a global and constructive reflection on the challenges and issues of "evidence" in education. We also propose a revised and expanded approach to evidence that is necessary if the goal is to provide the maximum amount of evidence to inform a complex issue about which an educational policy decision must be made. Contextualization, the use of various methodologies (quantitative and qualitative) and a detailed knowledge of the parameters of the educational act are fundamental elements in making evidence-based education even more refined, relevant, rigorous and ethical. An approach that allows us to remember that if evidence has its place in the field of education, it must never stop being questioned.