Articles

Schools, Bathrooms and Barricades, by Dr Chris Bagley

March 11, 2023

There is nothing inherent in human-ness that means teenage bowel movements must be policed. Young people are not innately bad actors for whom suspicion equals […]

Spearheading the Education Revolution in Africa, by Damilola Okonkwo

February 26, 2023

I moved to Lagos, Nigeria in 2013, having grown up in London in the UK. After a career in Finance spanning more than 10 years, […]

The Canaries in the Mine, by Jo Symes

January 25, 2023

This text that follows is the Prologue from the book, Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in – a guide for schools What if our […]

Outrage: Memories of Boarding School

January 17, 2023

Like many young boys in England in the early 50s, Robert ‘Bob’ Esau was sent away from home to boarding school at the tender age […]

Is Self Directed Education Uneconomic? By Dr Ian Cunningham

October 3, 2022

Large scale education The main defence of traditional large-scale schooling is that it is necessary to bring together large groups of young people in these […]

Reimagining Education in Practice – Community Learning Exchanges, by James Pitt

September 27, 2022

Invisible Mycelium networks (image above) provide communication and nutrition that support the growth of many species of plants and a healthy ecosystem – is this […]

Rebooting Public Education – Part 2, by Richard Fransham

August 20, 2022

Abstract We are in the predicament we are with public education because those in charge have failed to apply one of history’s greatest lessons provided […]

Do Schools Kill Creativity? By Ortal Green

June 22, 2022

Education shapes our children’s future. But does our current education system provide our children with the learning environment they need to thrive? Unfortunately, our education […]

Punishment, by Sean Bellamy

May 1, 2022

”When people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” Albert Einstein There was a […]

The Side Effects of School: A Crisis in Mental Health Can’t Be Solved Through Therapy, by Dr Naomi Fisher

April 9, 2022

We’re facing a crisis in young people’s mental health. Every day I get emails from several parents, asking if I can help their children. They […]

Research

Democratic Empowerment: How do Students Feel About Their Student Council? By Hope Wilder

March 12, 2023

What Students Say Matters Most schools do not look like a democratic society at all. Imagine a school where democracy is lived on a daily […]

Real World Learning: School 21 and XP

May 3, 2022

Here is a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), commissioned by the Edge Foundation (published June 2019), which presents the findings of […]

Journal of Pedagogy: Home-Based Education

October 26, 2021

Volume 12 (2021): Issue 1 (June 2021), Special Issue: Home-Based Education Volume 12 of the Journal of Pedagogy ran a special on home education. It […]

Evidence Base for Self-Directed Education

October 24, 2021

By Rose Arnold, Suitable-Education.uk, first published October 2021 “Self-directed education is a pedagogy grounded in biology, anthropology, cognitive science, psychology and child development. It is not claimed […]

The Student Experience of Self Managed Learning (SML): Evidence From Research

January 13, 2021

By Nicola Sankey, March 2008 (with Introduction by Dr. Graham Dawes) [At the time what is now Self Managed Learning College was Called ‘South Downs […]

Home Education Trends, Preliminary Report

January 8, 2021

By Wendy Charles-Warner, EducationOtherwise.org December 2020 This report examines trends in numbers of home educating families in England. The data was obtained by sending freedom […]

Home-Education: Aims, Practices and Outcomes

January 7, 2021

By Paula Rothermel, University of Durham, 2002 Abstract This research explores the aims and practices of home-educating families from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. The methodology involves […]

Preventing school exclusion: a case study of a primary aged autistic child with ADHD and a PDA profile

January 6, 2021

By Catrina Lyle and Heather Leatherland Catrina Lyle is an advisory teacher within the Communication and Interaction team and Heather Leatherland is a mainstream primary […]

A Summary of Research on Self Managed Learning

January 6, 2021

The material in this document is just a small snapshot of the extensive evaluations carried out on Self Managed Learning with young people. It includes […]

Learning from the COVID-19 home-schooling experience: Listening to pupils, parents/carers and teachers

October 21, 2020

A report by Mari-Ana Jones (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and Sara Bubb (University College London Institute of Education): “In Spring 2020, schools in […]