Democratic school
Summerhill and the Freie Demokratische Schule Kapriole in Freiburg (Germany) help their students prepare for nationally recognised qualifications so that the path to apprenticeship or university is open to them.
[13][10][15] Since the emergence of democratic state systems there have been schools and children's republics experimenting with student democracy.
Among the better-known cases are Léonard Bourdon's boarding school for war orphans Société des jeunes Français (1791-1795),[16] Heinrich Stephani's student jurisdiction (Schülergerichtsbarkeit) in the German town of Gunzenhausen (1826-1834),[17] Leo Tolstoy's peasant children's school in Yasnaya Polyana (1859-1862) south of Moscow and the George Junior Republic (1895-?)
Summerhill was founded in Germany in 1921 by the Scottish educationalist A. S. Neill, then moved to England, and still exists today.
Daniel Greenberg's numerous publications about his school have reached a relatively wide audience.
[2] In the Western world, the 1968 generation founded numerous alternative schools with elements of direct democracy.
Subsequently, some of the dismissed teachers and students founded the Schule für Erwachsenenbildung (School for Adult Education).
In the beginning, the school organised itself with an equal delegate system of the two status groups, students and teachers.
[2][page needed] Most of these can be found in the United States, Japan, France,[28] Germany and Israel.
Others are in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine and the UK.
[2][page needed][28][30][31] By 1981, the Schule für Erwachsenenbildung (School for Adult Education) had grown to an enrollment of approx.
[36] The headmaster and founder of the school, A. S. Neill saw many of the problems of children and society as being caused by the suppression of sexuality.
The discussion of sexuality was one of the special features of Summerhill, along with the use of paradoxical sanctions, i.e. the rewarding of serious offences.
[38] Founded in 1968, the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham (Massachusetts, United States) is influenced by Summerhill but has a more radical concept of freedom to learn.
[40][2][page needed][28] Endenburg also developed his method through his experiences at the consensus-oriented Quaker school Werkplaats Kindergemeenschap.
These include Agile Learning Centres,[10] the state schools Lycée Experimental de Saint-Nazaire and Lycée autogéré de Paris in France,[42] the Schule für Erwachsenenbildung (School for Adult Education) in Berlin, Methodos e.V.
[43][44][45] Three surveys at Sudbury Valley School and one at Summerhill found that former students see a positive relationship between the democratic school and the development of high self-esteem, the ability to overcome problems and the development of a positive relationship towards learning.
Bernstein's two most frequent criticisms were the weak academic support and the insufficient(ly) (enthusiastic) teachers.
[49] Both points of criticism were presumably also mentioned based on Bernstein's 1968 study[47] in Summerhill and the 1999 Inspector's Report.
[52] Although family income within the Democratic Circle School alumni group is positively correlated with the graduate's likelihood of attending college, the likelihood of attending university is significantly higher for Circle School graduates in every income group than for the national average.
All Sudbury Valley School students surveyed in 1985 felt they had an advantage over their peers in terms of their attitudes towards academic studies.
The two most frequently cited reasons were "ease of dealing with authority" and the opinion that Sudbury Valley was closer to university than mainstream schools in terms of self-organised learning.
[54] In its 2013 Ofsted inspection, Sands School in the United Kingdom was judged as 'Good' overall with a number of 'Outstanding' features.
No area of the education provision was found to be less than 'good', and all of the statutory regulations (the school 'standards') were met in full.
Ofsted observed that pupils' participation in decision-making processes helped them develop 'exceptional qualities of thoughtfulness and the ability to offer balanced arguments'.
The inspector was particularly impressed with pupils' behaviour, noting that 'lessons took place in an atmosphere of mutual respect' and that 'visitors were greeted with interest and impeccable manners'.
[2][page needed] In addition, the following associations and lobby organisations exist: The Kibbutzim College of Education in Tel Aviv[33] in Israel and the Necessary Teacher Training College (DNS)[61] in Denmark train teachers in Self-Determined Learning and for teaching in democratic schools.
