Signposts for a Critical Educational Policy Analysis

This paper criticizes current trends in educational policy analysis, drawing attention to: the vagueness of conceptualization; the inattention to values and ethical issues; the narrow role of the policy analyst; the dominance of functionalist, systems theory perspectives and the technically rational implications for policy making which follow from these; the absence of educational terms of reference; and the failure of policy analysis to ameliorate socio-educational problems. This paper presents an alternative perspective based upon critical social theory, particularly the work of the Frankfurt School and Habermas. This alternative strives to overcome many of the problems associated with traditional approaches, while developing specifically educational criteria for policy analysis constructed with an ethical and political framework of social justice.