Articles
Books about Self-Directed Learning and Democratic Education are like London Buses, by Derry Hannam
…None appear for ages, then they all come at once! Does this mean that we are looking at a Post-Pandemic Overton Window for our ideas? […]
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Collaborative Decision-Making: the beating heart of classroom learning, by Dr Geraldine Rowe
This article describes my doctoral research into shared decision-making in the classroom and offers hope and encouragement to teachers and school leaders who seek greater […]
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A Call For Youth Liberation, by Alexander Khost
“Why are those teachers screaming at those kids?” my son James asked me, with a look of true shock and concern on his face. He […]
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Portsmouth Home Educators’ Legal Action is Important for All Families, by Randall Hardy
Following the establishment of a state-controlled education system in England and Wales through the Education Act 1902, most people in Britain have become used to […]
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Not A Chance: How Self-Directed Children Find New Things to Learn, by Dr Naomi Fisher
When I start talking about self-directed education, one of the first questions which comes up is, but what about exposure? Surely children don’t know all […]
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Response from Summerhill on National School Abuse Scandal
A Statement from Zoë Readhead-Neill, Principal at Summerhill School: Today the UK government is launching an enquiry into sexual harassment, physical violence and even rape […]
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Catching up from COVID, by Dr Naomi Fisher
Children’s long term well-being depends on being given the time to make sense of their experiences. What will we want to do when finally this […]
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#ImLearning: Celebrating children’s learning during Covid, by Dr Caroline Palmer and Kathryn Pratt
[This article was originally published on Age of Awareness which is Medium’s largest publication dedicated to education reform.] Join the #Imlearning movement and showcase kids’ […]
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Unschooling School: supporting the Innate Philosophy of learning within our current schools, by Heather MacTaggart
Our world needs creative problem solvers. People who know how they learn, how to communicate, and are adept at creative collaboration. But how do we […]
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Let’s change our minds about lockdown learning, and give kids a break, by Naomi Fisher
Naomi Fisher is a clinical psychologist and author. Her book ‘Changing Our Minds; How Children Can Take Control of Their Own Learning’ is out now, […]
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The Student Experience of Self Managed Learning (SML): Evidence From Research
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 […]
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Home Education Trends, Preliminary Report
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 […]
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Home-Education: Aims, Practices and Outcomes
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 […]
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Preventing school exclusion: a case study of a primary aged autistic child with ADHD and a PDA profile
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 […]
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A Summary of Research on Self Managed Learning
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 […]
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Learning from the COVID-19 home-schooling experience: Listening to pupils, parents/carers and teachers
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 […]
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Staff of 2030: Future-Ready Teaching
In the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Staff of 2030: Future-Ready Teaching report Esther Wojcicki advocates “20% time” to introduce self-directed learning into the schedule: “This should […]
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I was a Teenage Governor
These papers are the reports of the first and second stages in the ‘I was a teenage governor’ project, organised by the Institute for Public […]
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“The Hannam Report” – Investigating the Impact of Student Participation on Education
This study from 2001, by Derry Hannam (a now retired state secondary school teacher, deputy/acting headteacher and Ofsted inspector) evaluates the impact of the student […]
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Home Schooled Children’s Social Skills
“Research affirms that although homeschooling parents are not worried about their children’s social development, they do care about it. In fact, they are strongly committed […]
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Right to Education and the French Authoritarian Context
Three European organisations advocating human rights and freedom in education – ALLI asbl (Luxemboug), Les Enfants d’Abord (France), and Full Human Rights-Experience Education – as […]
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What Are Your Training Needs?
Courses/workshops on progressive education coming soon: Please feed back as to what content and format you require. Progressive Education is collaborating with Holistic Learning and […]
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Do Students Need to “Catch Up?”
There is much talk in the news at the moment about students needing to “catch up” post Covid-19, but is this extra pressure on parents, […]
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‘Drill and kill’ for England’s state schools while private sector goes progressive
“As ministers persist with traditional teaching, including children sitting in rows, independent schools have switched to team and project-based learning. There’s been a huge change […]
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The Long, Insidious Shadows of Colonialism
“There’s a virus going around. You may have heard of it. It’s highly infectious and can infect whole swathes of the population at any given […]
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The Black British History You May Not Know About
This article points out that the transatlantic slave trade and the US civil rights movement are largely the only black history taught in UK schools, […]
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Coronavirus shows us it’s time to rethink everything. Let’s start with education.
Guardian columnist, George Monbiot says that now is the time for a Great Reset. “I believe that education should work outwards from our principal challenges […]
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Headteachers Call for a Kinder School System
Ten years since Michael Gove’s reforms began, coronavirus shows up their failings, says the Headteachers’ Roundtable – and offers a chance for change. Ros McMullen, […]
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School’s Really Out…
Clinical psychologist, Dr Naomi Fisher with an update to her recent article, as children learn at home during the coronavirus pandemic. “On a global scale, […]
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School Refusal: Crime, Mental Disorder, or Human Right?
“Views on school refusal depend on beliefs about children and human rights.” Read the full article here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/202002/school-refusal-crime-mental-disorder-or-human-right Published by: Psychology Today Date: February 2020 […]
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