Many educational alternatives emphasize small class sizes, close relationships between students and teachers and a sense of community.
The legal framework for such education varies by locality, and determines any obligation to conform with mainstream standard tests and grades.
After World War II an alternative Reggio Emilia approach to early-childhood education was developed in Italy, introduced by Loris Malaguzzi.
Cultural critics such as John Caldwell Holt, Paul Goodman, Frederick Mayer and George Dennison have examined education from individualist, anarchist, and libertarian perspectives.
The argument for an approach catering to the interests and learning style of an individual is supported by research suggesting that a learner-responsible model is more effective than a teacher-responsible one.
As noted by Levin "It is rooted in the belief to uphold the individual freedom and the innate goodness of the child against institutional and social conformity and the corrupting influences of modern society.
They also offered smaller classes, closer and more informal relations with teachers, and greater flexibility in course selection and timetabling.
The most recent development within alternative education in Canada may be to follow the United States in their "Charter School" movement.
Traditional learning in India involved students living in gurukulas, where they received free food, shelter and education from a guru ("teacher" in Sanskrit).
Progress was based on tests given by the gurus, and the system aimed to nurture students' creativity and personality development.
Although mainstream education in India is based on the system introduced by Lord Macaulay, a few projects aim to rejuvenate the earlier method.
Interest in alternative education was sparked during the 1980s by student violence and bullying, school refusal, social anxiety disorder and, in the worst cases, suicide; the desire to enable young people to keep up with a globalized economy is an additional impetus.
In 1992 Dr Shinichiro Hori, formerly Professor of Education at Osaka City University, founded the first, Kinokuni Children's Village in Wakayama Prefecture, of several alternative, democratic schools.
It seeks to diverge from traditional Chinese education methodology and requires parents of their students to not hit or scold their children.
[10] There is also alternative education that caters to learners with special needs such as the Taipei County's Seedling Elementary School, which opened in 1994.
It integrates traditional courses with strategies that focus on enhancing the learner's bond with nature and aboriginal culture.
The influx of private businesses entering the sector has led to concerns being raised by Ofsted and the Department for Education in relation to so called illegal schools operating.