Democratic Schooling: Changing the Way of Student Participation in Education

Have you ever thought about what would happen if we started involving learners in democratic schooling?

Democratic schooling brought the concept that learners should have equal rights to speak and suggest changes in their instructional methods and academic decisions.

Due to this, learners are motivated to attend classes because of internal instincts instead of external mandation. This makes learners take charge of their own learning and be responsible from a young age.

But is democratic schooling really applicable in the 21st century? If yes, what is the structure being followed and the executional ways?

To bring clarity about all these questions and understand more about democratic schooling, you will have to read this piece thoroughly.

What is democratic schooling?

Democratic schooling is a method of education where students are an integral part of meetings held for making adjustments in curriculum design and school operations.

This means that learners and school staff have an equal vote on matters concerning the development of their learning experiences.

Traditional schooling mandates following a particular method of learning. Democratic schooling works on the principle that learners can plan the best for themselves as they understand their wants and needs in learning.

When learners become part of their educational reforms, including the academic budget, regulations, and staff recruitment, they feel motivated to do well in assessments that would lead to their academic success.

This encourages them to become responsible for the country’s upliftment and participate as democratic citizens in future.

Historical background of democratic schooling

During the philosophical era between the 18th century and the 20th century, many thinkers started realising the importance of autonomy and self-governance in public education.

Thinkers like Thomas Jefferson and John Locke were among the first of them. They gave rise to the idea of democratic schooling, where learners were encouraged to attend schools without any coercion, and were supposed to participate in their learning as informed citizenry.

In between the progressive reforms and philosophical shifts, Leo Tolstoy opened a school in Russia that favoured student-teacher partnership and unforced attendance in the 19th century.

The oldest democratic school is the one founded by A. S. Neil in England. It is still functional and follows the joint decision-making of facilitators and learners.

Sudbury Valley School followed a model in the United States that gave equal voting rights to learners and educators on school decisions.

These schools revealed that children with freedom and responsibility can grow into self-assured and competent people.

Democratic schooling has been able to attract worldwide attention over the years as a view of schooling that encourages autonomy, resourcefulness, and social accountability.

6 core principles of democratic schooling

Democratic schooling functions on the following six principles:

1. Student autonomy

The base of democratic schooling is student autonomy. It gives learners the autonomy to control their own learning process, including making decisions on what they wish to learn, how they wish to learn it, and at what rate.

This self-dependency builds confidence and a sense of responsibility among learners about their learning journey and career.

2. Shared governance

Democratic schools run on the basis of shared governance. This means all learners, teaching staff, and non-teaching staff get equal say while making decisions for the effective functioning of schools.

Participants are not discriminated against or sidelined on the basis of their age. They all have an equal say, and all of their inputs are equally relevant.

3. Equality and respect

In democratic schooling, learners feel equally respected by their educators and parents, because they have an equal space for expression.

Their views and thoughts are also considered important to form curricular designs and educational plans.

When everyone is involved in open communication without compelling a hierarchy, a healthier relationship is formed between them, which makes learning more inclusive.

4. Freedom with responsibility

Freedom comes with the price of responsibility in democratic schools. It means that learners who participate in school decisions also have to face repercussions.

Learners, along with other stakeholders of the school, have to take accountability when things go south. This ensures that decisions are made after thinking wisely.

5. Experiential learning

Democratic schooling provides learners with the opportunity to learn through experiences, and this is known as experiential learning.

It understands that when learners plan their own learning and include fun learning activities in their program, their memories get registered for a long time.

The strategy improves comprehension, arouses curiosity, relates learning to practical use, and makes learning more relevant and insightful.

6. Individualized education

Democratic schooling encourages individual learning since every learner is an individual.

Learning is custom-made to a variety of interests, strengths, and needs instead of imposing a pre-determined curriculum. This decreases academic stress and promotes the natural growth of a person.

Structure and functioning of democratic schools

Democratic schools function well based on the following structure and management:

1. School meetings

The heart of democratic schooling is school meetings, at which students and staff gather together and make decisions about rules, policies, and activities.

All members vote, and decisions are made to represent the whole community. These assemblies are lessons to teach democracy from an early age.

2. Judicial committees

Judicial committees are a part of the democratic schools' structure that is responsible for managing ethical conduct and justice in the educational premises.

If anything goes wrong in democratic schools, the judicial committee comes up to manage disputes and try to bring the parties involved to the same ground.

Any breach of rules and regulations is also handled by this committee. The alleged individuals are expected to take accountability so that nothing like that gets repeated in the future.

3. Flexible schedules

Flexible schedules and studying hours are core to the structure of democratic schooling. Learners get to decide their learning sessions and other activities according to their preferences.

Learners need to practice time management so that they attend enough classes, complete their syllabus, and perform well in scholastic areas.

Such flexibility promotes self-management, removes stress, and enables the learners to venture into areas of different interests.

4. Role of teachers

The main role of teachers in democratic schools is to guide learners, instead of forcing them to follow the teaching and assessment plans made by them.

Teachers can help learners make their decisions about academic planning and even guide them to get the right resources. The learners and teachers work as a team, as teachers have an equal say in making planning and executionory decisions.

6 benefits of democratic schooling

Look at the following benefits of democratic schooling and decide if it should be applied in schools:

1. Enhanced motivation

Learners feel motivated from within in democratic schooling as they are held responsible for their own decisions in scholastic changes. They enable them to study and attain good grades even when educators are absent.

2. Development of critical thinking

When learners are given responsibilities from the very beginning, as in democratic schooling, learners' brains get trained well to deal with problems, leading to the development of critical thinking abilities.

Learners have to analyse all data and have a thoughtful discussion with everyone to reach a certain conclusion and apply it in the school premises.

These skills help learners to become leaders and stand out from the crowd in later stages of life.

3. Social and emotional growth

Being directly involved in decision-making or conflict management leads to emotional and social development of learners, so that they can empathise and understand others’ feelings.

This also lets them gain the emotional intelligence required for forming healthy social relationships.

4. Preparation for democratic citizenship

To make a successful society, democratic schooling can contribute by training learners to take part in decision-making and curricular formation.

When learners learn about the benefits of equal rights and how it builds a harmonious setting, they become democratically aware and responsible citizens.

5. Respect for diversity

Democratic schooling influences learners to respect others' backgrounds and points of view.

When parents, facilitators, school management officers, and learners come together for a meeting, they have to respect each other's perspectives and forget the hierarchy.

They remember that in this meeting each one has an equal right to speak and everyone's contribution matters.

6. Lifelong learning skills

Democratic schooling is based on independent learning plans and processes, which give rise to lifelong learning skills required when there is no guidance. Students acquire quality skills that enable them to learn lifelong, even after school.

5 challenges of democratic schooling

Democratic schooling has the following disadvantages:

1. Lack of structure

The lack of structure can be considered one of the most widely known limitations of democratic schooling.

As students are provided with the opportunity to follow their own learning directions, there might not be a specific curriculum or schedule.

While some learners might thrive in such settings when given autonomy, others might feel lost. This could lead to poor grades and hurdles in discipline management.

2. Readiness for higher education

Another limitation of democratic schooling could be a lack of readiness for higher education.

Democratic schooling is only applicable till the school level, and the habit of taking decisions for oneself in academics won't help in universities. This might disrupt the readiness to go back to traditional methods of studying and learning among learners.

Learners might feel forced to study according to others' plans, which might poorly affect their motivation levels and participation.

3. Implementation difficulties

As fascinating as it sounds, democratic schooling is tough to implement as it requires every party involved to sit at the same table and come to a particular decision.

With a vague hierarchy of power distribution, sometimes discussions could lead to ego clashes.

This is one of the reasons that democratic schooling needs thoughtful consideration before applying it in schools.

4. Cultural and social constraints

Traditional teaching methods are more preferred in social settings as democratic schooling is assumed to be too permissive and insufficiently flexible.

Parents feel doubtful when they are told that their children will make decisions for themselves and their studies. They are reluctant and don't think that children are capable enough to be a part of such discussions.

These thoughts often discourage them from sending their kids to schools that follow democratic schooling, as it might affect their future goals and aspirations.

5. Resource limitations

Insufficient funding and resource limitations can restrict the growth of democratic schools, particularly in developing areas.

Democratic schools tend to require smaller student-teacher ratios, versatile areas, and trained teachers who are knowledgeable about this philosophy. Such schools may be costly to operate because of such requirements.

Democratic schooling in practice

Practically speaking, democratic schooling establishes a kind of setting in which the students are given the opportunity to be a part of designing their educational experiences.

A day in one of these schools is not limited to a particular time frame or mandatory lessons.

Instead, students choose how to use their time to participate in a workshop, take part in discussions, do creative activities, or find out what interests them.

Regular meetings are organised where all stakeholders of the school, including the learners, participate in policy-making decisions and curriculum planning.

This forms a really healthy set-up where issues are addressed through systems such as judicial committees and are discussed in a transparent way.

While teachers act as facilitators rather than authoritative figures, learners get the actual support that they need for learning concepts and become accountable for their learning outcomes.

Relevance of democratic schooling in the 21st century

It is high time that we drop traditional schooling and adopt democratic ways of teaching in the 21st century.

Personalised learning, which is also encouraged by 21K school, is the new realm of learning techniques. It suggests that learners know their needs and demands in education and can lead through self-directed learning.

Democratic schooling is a system of providing education that includes learners at each step of planning and execution of learning goals.

Through this method, learners become highly aware of their responsibilities and develop into accountable citizens in future who know how to think critically and make sound decisions.

When learners grow in democratic schools, they tend to become leaders instead of just being average corporate employees.

4 ways to integrate democratic principles into mainstream education

Democratic schooling requires integration of the following democratic principles into mainstream education to run smoothly and effectively:

1. Student voice

Student voices can be integrated into mainstream schools by involving the learners in decision-making, which may involve having students provide insights on modes of teaching and assessments.

This can be great for making them a part of school councils or policy discussions. When students are listened to, their participation and motivation levels are high.

2. Flexible learning

Learning can be made flexible if schools can offer elective subjects, project-based learning, flexible deadlines, and self-regulated sessions.

Flexibility in learning, along with responsible participation in curriculum planning, can help democratic schools to function properly.

Autonomy can be encouraged even by simple modifications like giving students freedom to choose their own assignment topics.

3. Collaborative governance

Elements of shared governance that can be adopted in schools include discussions with students and teachers on rules and school activities.

Forming committees or councils and making decisions together may lead to developing a feeling of responsibility and belongingness.

4. Emphasis on well-being

The well-being of students is one of the main democratic values. Learners are able to learn effectively when they are safe and supported.

For that, schools can offer open communication services and mental health support. This will engage learners in effective learning and provide them with support from their facilitators and peer groups.

Democratic education examples

A number of schools in the world manage to apply democratic principles of education, due to which learners experience a different method of learning.

One of the most famous examples is the Sudbury Model Schools, where learners are equal to other members of the school management. Holding the same authority as others to manage the school curriculum, hire or fire staff, or make regulations motivates learners to study as per their preferences and wants.

In many conventional schools, semi-structured democratic schooling is brought into practice. Here, the major decisions are taken regularly in assemblies, while the mediation groups manage the disagreements. An example of such arrangements is the Suvemäe-TKG school in Estonia.

The Summerhill School, in the UK, is another significant example of democratic institutions that allow equal say of learners as other facilitators or parents in policy- making and curriculum development.

To conclude

Democratic schooling demolishes the idea that learners are any less capable of deciding for themselves when it comes to their education.

Like any other elder stakeholder, they are given equal rights to contribute to the decisions made for the functioning of the school. This is a well-thought-out approach that makes learners responsible for their decisions and motivates them to score better.

For proper implementation of democratic schooling, learners and facilitators will have to come along and reach proper conclusions.

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