Democratic Education

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These pages hold topics, threads, people or concepts that weave through many of the resources on this site. I developed the topics pages mostly for trainings as a resource. I hope they can be useful in your explorations. Many of these topics have other meanings in different settings or traditions. I offer these interpretations based on my experience only.

Democratic Education

Democratic education is an approach to schooling and learning that places participation, choice, and shared power at its center. It is rooted in the belief that education should not prepare children for democracy—it should be democracy. In these settings, children are not only learners but citizens: decision-makers, collaborators, and co-creators of their educational environment.

The idea has deep philosophical roots in the work of John Dewey, who argued that democracy is not just a political system but a mode of associated living. He believed schools should model the kind of society we hope to build—one based on inquiry, dialogue, and mutual respect.

Democratic education takes many forms. In some models, like Summerhill or Sudbury Valley, children have near-complete autonomy over how they spend their time, and school rules are created and revised through community meetings. In other settings, democratic education might mean children help plan curriculum, participate in classroom agreements, or engage in conflict resolution circles.

The common thread is this: children’s voices matter—not in token ways, but in shaping the real life of the group.

How It’s Understood (and Used)

Democratic education exists on a spectrum. At one end are fully self-directed environments, where children choose what, how, and whether to learn at any given moment. At the other are more structured classrooms that incorporate elements of choice, negotiation, and shared governance.

The approach is often misunderstood as permissive or lacking boundaries, but this misses the core idea: freedom with responsibility. When done well, democratic education fosters accountability, empathy, and deep engagement. It also requires skilled facilitation, patience, and a willingness to work through conflict rather than suppress it.

Many public schools borrow pieces of the democratic model—like classroom jobs, voting on group activities, or project-based learning—but these gestures often remain symbolic. True democratic education involves power-sharing at a deeper level, which can challenge adult assumptions about control, efficiency, and expertise.

How It Relates to My Approach (optional)

Democratic education resonates with many values in my work: trust in the child, shared authorship, and ethical attention to power. I don’t replicate Sudbury or Summerhill models, but I am committed to pedagogies that respect children’s voices and foster relational responsibility.

In Reggio Emilia, the child is seen as a citizen from birth—capable of participating in decisions that matter. In my practice, this might look like slowing down to listen, negotiating project directions, or using dialogue to resolve tensions instead of imposing top-down discipline.

At the same time, I hold this approach in tension. Not all choices are developmentally appropriate, and not all children find comfort in full autonomy. What matters most to me is not a structure, but the stance behind it: a belief that children deserve real say in how they live and learn.

References

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education
Neill, A. S. (1960). Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing
Fielding, M. & Moss, P. (2011). Radical Education and the Common School
Gray, P. (2013). Free to Learn
Suissa, J. (2006). Education, Philosophy and the Ethical Environment

Glossary

Democratic Education – An approach that centers student participation, choice, and shared decision-making in educational life.
Self-Directed Learning – A model in which learners choose what, how, and when they pursue knowledge or skills, often with minimal adult intervention.
Collective Governance – The process by which a learning community creates and maintains its own rules and structures through dialogue and consensus.
Freedom with Responsibility – A core principle of democratic education: liberty is balanced by accountability to the group.
Agency – The capacity of individuals to act intentionally and influence their environment or experience.