REVISITING THE 8-YEAR STUDY AND RETHINKING THE FOCUS OF EDUCATIONAL-POLICY ANALYSIS

Despite Dewey's influence on educational thought, those with progressive visions of democratic education are generally on the margins of educational policy and practice. One notable exception was the ''Eight-Year Study''-a landmark attempt to design, implement, and evaluate democratic secondary schools. Examination of this effort permits consideration of how democratic priorities can transform both educational practice and educational evaluation and policy analysis. In addition, studying the reactions of the mainstream policy community to this study helps illuminate the constraints imposed by the culture of educational policy discussions. Specifically, it shows that the norms, values, and technologies that guide mainstream analysis are poorly suited to record and report the strengths of the democratic orientation inspired by Dewey's work.