Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments

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 schoolsthose 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 societys most urgent challenges.