Alternative Education Resource Organization

Democratic Education

Click here for a list of democratic schools.

This web page serves as a reference for democratic schools and IDEC. AERO's mission is to promote learner-centered education and unite all forms of educational alternatives. One of AERO's main areas of expertise is democratic education.

Most of our resources on democratic education can be found on our website, www.DemocraticEducation.com. Below is the introduction to the website by Dana Bennis and Isaac Graves.

Introduction to The Directory of Democratic Education
Dana Bennis & Isaac Graves

Democratic education begins with freedom and respect for young people. There has been a surge of interest in this education approach since the 1990s, leading to the creation of new democratic schools throughout the world. As of the publication of this directory, there are over 200 known democratic schools, resource centers, and programs located in 29 countries involving an estimated 15,000 students. These numbers will only increase as we progress further into the information age of the 21st century and beyond, as more and more people realize the deep significance of basing education on freedom, respect, and self-determination. This directory is an attempt to catalogue the schools, colleges, programs, cooperatives, resource centers, and organizations world-wide that are dedicated to the practice of democratic education.

What is democratic education?
The personalized and dynamic nature of democratic education makes it difficult to define. There is no “accepted” definition of what exactly democratic education means (and, in our opinion, we hope no authority ever presumes to claim an exact definition). However, it might help to provide a brief description of what it is not as well as varying perspectives on what it is. Democratic education, as we see it and in the context of this directory, does not refer to an authoritarian approach involving a hierarchical structure and pre-determined course-work designed to create “citizens of a democracy.” Such an interpretation is taken by, among others, University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann in her book entitled Democratic Education (1999). While Gutmann uses the term “democratic education” to describe the end goal of a mostly pre-planned, authoritarian form of schooling, we believe that democracy and freedom ought to be both the end result of education as well as the means through which education takes place.
 
What does this mean in practice? To start with the simplest description, the Israeli-based Institute for Democratic Education describes two core elements of a democratic school: “1. adhering to human rights within the school framework, and 2. operating school life on the basis of democratic procedures” (Institute for Democratic Education, 2006, 1). Describing these democratic procedures a little further, Sudbury Valley School, one of the oldest running democratic schools in the United States, mentions the following three characteristics: individual rights, political democracy, and equal opportunity (The Crisis in American Education, 1970). Matt Hern, director of the Purple Thistle Centre, an alternative to school project in Vancouver, British Columbia, described nine characteristics of democratic schools in his book Field Day: non-compulsory academics, democratic self-government, self-regulation, non-graded evaluations, non-compulsory attendance, focus on emotional/social development, non-hierarchy of activities, broad interpretations of learning, and the importance of play (pp. 177-178).
 
Every staff member, student, parent, and supporter of democratic education might have a different definition. For the purpose of clarifying the content of this directory, we offer an inexact synthesis of the varying descriptions for this approach:

Democratic education is an educational approach grounded in respect for human rights and a broad interpretation of learning, in which young people have the freedom to organize their daily activities, and in which there is equality and democratic decision-making among young people and adults.
 
This is a directory of schools, colleges, programs, cooperatives, resource centers, and organizations around the world that practice, identify with, and support these characteristics.

Why and how we created this directory
Our experiences working in and visiting democratic schools and programs throughout the world have convinced us that there is a need for more information and published material about this educational approach. While each school and project is doing profound work in their small niches, we gain support, context, and new ideas by knowing about the work of others. We hope the information and essays in this directory help promote democratic education by further connecting the schools, programs and organizations supporting this approach, as well as demonstrating the variety of ideas and practices within this field. We have not shied away from including essays that express some critiques of democratic education, believing that we must not become complacent and that we can only gain from considering critical perspectives. Ultimately, our goal in creating this directory is to help in the effort to provide more young people with the opportunity to live and grow in an environment of freedom and respect.
 
Our collaboration began in 2002 with the year-long planning of the 2003 International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC), held in Troy, New York. Since then, we have collaborated on various projects to strengthen democratic education. In the fall of 2005, after pondering the idea of a directory for several years, we finally embarked on the process. For over half a year we researched, gathered information, and contacted nearly every democratic school listed in this directory. We then solicited essays and began the compilation process. This directory is the end result, including information on primary and secondary democratic schools, higher education, organizations supporting democratic education, and a list of resources regarding this educational approach. Also included are over 15 essays from various individuals who have been deeply involved with democratic education over the years.

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This is not a complete and finished directory, only a reflection of the current status of democratic schools and programs as of the date of this printing. We will of course continue to update this directory as we receive more information and as new schools open (or, though we hope not, close). Please let us know about any corrections, changes, and additions – our contact information is listed at the front and the back of this book. We need your help to make this directory as complete and accurate as possible. Most importantly, we want to acknowledge that this is not an “official” directory of democratic education, as there is not any official recognizing body. This is only the work of two individuals involved with this educational approach. Our hope is that this directory serves as a valuable resource for democratic schools, programs, and supporters, and that it inspires further writing and reflection about freedom and democracy in education.

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