A democratic school is a school that centers on democratic principles and participatory democracy with "full and equal" participation from both students and staff. These learning environments position youth voice as the central actor in the educative process by engaging students in every facet of school operations, including learning, teaching, and leadership. Adult staff support students by offering passive and active facilitation according to students' interest. A school is most commonly a place designated for learning. ... Democracy (from Greek δημοκρατία (demokratia), δημος (demos) the common people + κρατειν (kratein) to rule + the suffix ία (ia), literally the common people rule): Democracy is a form of government within a group in which members of the group have approximately equal political power. ... Participatory democracy is a broadly inclusive term for many kinds of consultative decision making which require consultation on important decisions by those who will carry out the decision. ... Alternate uses: Student (disambiguation) Etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation verb stŭdērĕ, which means to study, a student is one who studies. ... Youth voice is a fairly common neologism to refers to the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as a collective body. ...

The second tenet of many democratic schools, which is unrelated to their democratic nature, is giving students the power to choose what to do with their time. There are no required classes, and sometimes no requirement to take classes at all. Students are free to choose an activity that they desire, or feel the need to do. They are free to continue activities for as long or short a time as they see fit. In this way they learn both self-discipline and self initiation. They also gain the advantage of the increases in both learning speed and learning retention that accompany engagement in an activity that one is passionate about. The students at these schools are responsible for and empowered to direct their own education from a very young age.

History

The oldest surviving democratic school, Summerhill School in England, was founded in 1921 by A.S. Neill. Summerhill is a private school that receives public funds and is held accountable to government standards. Sands School, also in England, was established in 1987. It is a small private school which receives no public funding, and so is free from the UK government standards. In the United States, well known successful examples include the Sudbury Valley School, Play Mountain Place, The Circle School, The Highland School and the smaller, inner-city Albany Free School in upstate NY. In Australia, Preshil in Melbourne has been running successfully since the 1930s, and in Sydney Currambena Primary School has been in operation since 1969. Summerhill School Summerhill School, founded in 1921 in Hellerau near Dresden, England by A.S. Neill. ... Alexander Sutherland Neill (October 17, 1883 _ September 23, 1973) was an educationalist recognised as one of the leading pioneers in education. ... Sands School was set up by Sean Bellamy and Sybillia Higgs in 1987 Visit the website for more information. ... The Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 in Framingham, Massachusetts. ... The Circle School is a Sudbury Valley School located in Harrisburg PA and founded in 1984. ... The Albany Free School is the oldest inner-city independent alternative school in the United States. ... Currambena Primary School is a democratic school for primary and preschool aged students in the suburb of Lane Cove, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ...

At least 100 schools around the world identify themselves as "democratic schools" today, in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. Since 1993 there is an International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC), held in a different country each year. The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ... IDEC stands for International Democratic Education Conference. ...

Trends

The early 1970s saw the creation of publicly-funded, publicly-operated democratic schools. The creation of NOVA Project Alternative High School in Seattle in 1973 is the best example. With the growing rigors of modern education reform, the 1990s saw a return to democratic schooling practices and their increased usage in public schools. Today, organizations including The Big Picture Company, the Coalition of Essential Schools, and SoundOut each incorporate the principles of democratic schools into public education reform efforts. Education reform is a plan, program, or movement which attempts to bring about a systematic change in educational theory or practice across a community or society. ... The Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) is an organization created to further a type of whole-school reform originally envisioned by founder Ted Sizer in his book, CES began in 1984 with twelve schools; it currently has 600 formal members. ...

The development of free schools, popularized in the 1970s by Jonathan Kozol, usually apply the principles of democratic governance with Humanistic education. Free Schools (or Free Skools) are decentralized networks that share skills, information, and knowledge without hierarchy and the institutional environment of formal schooling. ... Jonathan Kozol at Pomona College April 17, 2003 Jonathan Kozol (born 1936 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a non-fiction writer, educator, and activist, best known for his books on public education in the United States. ... Humanistic education is an alternative approach to education based on the principles of Humanism, most notably Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs and the work of Carl Rogers. ...

See also

• Collaborative learning
• Free schools
• Michael Apple
• Jane Addams School for Democracy
• Hull House