Recent U.S. educational policies (e.g., Slavin, 2002; Uchiyama, 2024) promote evidence-based practices that “work” as defined by student outcomes on standardized tests. At the turn of the twentieth century when the U.S. also faced rapid societal changes from the industrial revolution and increasing immigration, John Dewey (1916/2016) articulated a theory of education with attention to unifying the journey and goal of education. The purpose of this paper is to explore the language of “evidence” from the perspective of U.S. education philosopher John Dewey. Over the course of his career, Dewey (1897/2013; 1916/2016) encouraged continuous growth throughout life, and to avoid following a path to a point where learning could stop. In Democracy and Education, Dewey (1916/2016) argued that an education which only emphasizes the achievement of “external aims” hinders students’ capacity for continuous growth and leads students toward viewing learning as an overly burdensome activity which they should seek to end as quickly as possible. Democracy requires that everyone continuously grow and adapt to changing conditions (Dewey, 1916). Focusing explicitly on pedagogical activity in relation to formal education in “My Pedagogic Creed” (1897/1972), Dewey aimed at unifying the journey and goal of education: “education must be conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience…the process and the goal of education are one and the same thing” (p. 91). It should be noted that Dewey (1916/2016) did not ignore the significance, nature and utility of subject areas, or outcomes. Dewey (1916/2016) did not ignore the significance, nature and utility of subject areas, or outcomes. In fact, chapters of Democracy and Education are dedicated to deliberation on “geography and history” and “physical and social studies” as well as “play and work” and “vocational aspects of education.” Dewey communicates the aims of education for social direction, preparation, formation, and reconstruction. Consequently, education is “based upon a consideration of what is already going on; upon the resources and difficulties of existing conditions,” all of which require reflection and development or growth (democracy). Drawing on Dewey (1916/2016), Biesta (2010) identified a democracy deficit in contemporary “evidence-based” reforms, emphasizing how a particular use of evidence threatens to replace professional judgment and the wider democratic deliberation about the aims and ends and the conduct of education. The paper further analyzes the language of “evidence” through Dewey’s education theorizing with its Hegelian root at the turn of the century and concludes with lessons for the contemporary situation.

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