15 Ways to Reimagine Education

12. Reduce Class/School Sizes.

Large classe sizes and large school communities make it difficult for the wide-ranging educational and developmental needs of children and young people to be met.

“Smallness is a prerequisite for the climate and culture that we need to develop the habits of heart and mind essential to a democracy.”

Meier, 1993

Researchers have found that students learn best when they are in mutually respectful, nurturing relationships with their educators. Therefore, the size of the learning environment is key. In the large schools we have today it’s almost impossible to create a culture built on egalitarian relationships where students are treated as individuals with unique interests, attributes and needs.

The charity, Human Scale Education believes that smallness of scale helps to create the interpersonal relationships that enable children and young people to become confident and resourceful individuals, capable of respecting and caring for each other and for the environment.

You can contact them via their website to find out how they are helping state schools to work in human scale ways.


Further Reading

Alternative Approaches to Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents, by Fiona Carnie

Why I Started a Small School: A nurturing, human scale approach to education, by Rosalyn Spencer


Further Reading on Why Progressive Alternatives are Needed

Please visit 15 Ways to Reimagine Education