Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments: A Global Perspective (2024)

By: Linda F. Nathan and Jonathan F. Mendonca and Gustavo Rojas Ayala

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Synopsis: This open access book explores democratic schools and learning environments globally. The book focuses on a newly developed framework for democratic education. The authors describe existing schools and concept schools—those that are ideas but not in operation. The first section includes the editors’ own journeys. Pillar 1 includes schools that emphasize the open flow of ideas and choices, regardless of their popularity. Pillar 2 maintains that it is impossible to have a high quality education that ignores equity. Chapters explore how many diverse ‘marginalized’ communities experience education and some innovations that hold great promise for inclusion. Pillar 3 provides examples of schools where active engagement, consensus and compromise support the ‘common good.’ Pillar 4 investigates schools which organize students, parents, social institutions and the larger community collaboratively to achieve its goals and to solve theirs and society’s most urgent challenges.