If you're looking for progressive alternatives to conventional methods in education, you’re not alone.
This online hub explores progressive approaches to education which are forward-thinking and aim to equip students with appropriate skills for the 21st century.
We present a variety of options so that parents/carers, teachers, students, policy makers and other professionals can make informed choices. Our directory includes a list of progressive schools and learning communities in the UK, and our Voices section showcases innovation from the state and private sectors.
We are committed to sharing the voices of key stakeholders so that together, we can reimagine education.
Why Do We Need Alternative Approaches to Education?
There are many reasons why progressive alternatives are becoming more popular, and why a growing movement of people are calling for our state education system to be reimagined.
Articles, News & Research
A Healthy Foundation for the Future
A report by The Health Foundation (2019) found that 80% of teachers feel that the focus on exams has become disproportionate to the focus on the wellbeing of their pupils. They are now calling for education providers to ensure that they equip young people with the essential skills they need to prepare them for the […]
Why Schooling is a Major Contributor to the [Socio-Economic-Ecological] Crisis – and What Can be Done About it. By Ian Cunningham
Introduction In this essay I will use as my starting point the ‘Manifesto for Change’ elaborated by Robinson et al, 2009. Each of the nine points in this manifesto summarise exceedingly well the basis of the global crisis explored in their paper [SEE ENDNOTE]. Others have commented on a range of aspects of the socio-economic-ecological […]
What is a 21st Century Education? By Ian Cunningham
Some people have suggested that the only change from Victorian schools to those of today is from black to white – blackboards have changed to whiteboards. We still have classrooms that are not much different from the 19th century with curricula that have progressed little since then and with lessons of standardised times delivered in […]
The Hole in the Wall Project and the Power of Self-Organized Learning
“…we did extensive research in self-directed learning, in many places and through many cultures. Each time, the children were able to develop deep learning by teaching themselves.” Read the full article here. Published by: Edutopia Date: February 2012 Author: Dr Sugata Mitra, Professor of Education Technology
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 Author: Dr Peter Gray, Psychologist and Research Professor
School’s Out… Arguments for Self-Directed Education
“I set out to find out more about education where children are active agents. Perhaps the most radical type of all is self-directed education, where the children are not made to follow any curriculum at all, unless they want to. I interviewed psychologists researching learning in home educated children, and others focusing on children in […]
Coronavirus Reminds Us What Education Without Schooling Can Look Like
“The coronavirus outbreak might help some parents discover better alternatives outside of traditional schooling.” Read the full article here: https://fee.org/articles/coronavirus-reminds-us-what-education-without-schooling-can-look-like/ Published by: Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) Date: March 10th 2020 Author: Kerry McDonald, Senior Education Fellow at FEE and author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press, 2019).
Home School Vs State School
Specific Differences in the Educational Outcomes of Those Students who are Home Schooled Vs. Students in a Traditional School Setting This report (by Kathi Moreau, 2012) examines home education in the United States. It describes the families who are most likely to choose home schooling* as an educational option and the level of success that […]
Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream
A study by Patrick Basham, John Merrifield, and Claudia R. Hepburn This is the 2nd edition of a study published by The Fraser Institute (2007). The paper considers the educational phenomenon of home schooling in Canada and the United States, its regulation, history, growth, and the characteristics of practitioners before reviewing the findings on the […]
Children Love to Learn, by Polly Cheer
Since qualifying as a teacher in 1994 I have learnt so much more about how children learn. Out of those 30 six year olds, there will be approx. 10-15 of them who can sit and listen and don’t really mind being passive. I was one of those children as a child. I was quite happy […]
Education – What For? By Fiona Carnie
Successive governments, concerned about the underachievement of British children and the detrimental effect of this underachievement on the economy, have been determined to raise academic standards in education. This aim has underpinned changes to the state education system since the early 1980s, in particular the introduction of the National Curriculum in England, with its associated […]
Research into Children’s Rights Education
A Review of Recent Research into Children’s Rights Based Education in State Schools in Hampshire, England by Derry Hannam for the Spring 2011 edition of the EUDEC newsletter In 2002 one of the county education officials in Hampshire, England learned of research carried out by researchers at Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia, Canada, into the […]
Voices from the Sector
Parent Voice 3
Jessica – Unschooling Mum and Educationalist Educationalist, Jessica* currently home educates her four-year old and has chosen to follow the ‘unschooling’ approach. Jessica has worked in education for nearly 20 years in a number of capacities. She has been a teacher in colleges and universities, been involved in teacher training and the design of learning […]
Parent Voice 2
Ross Mountney – Home Educator and Author Ross Mountney is a parent, home educator and author. She started her career as a teacher which she says “was a bit daft really” as she was never at ease with the school environment. That was when she began to suspect that much of what went on at school was […]
Parent Voice 1
Kirstie Gran – Parent and Trainee Holistic Family Health Coach Kirstie has a son in mainstream school and a younger daughter at home. She’s become interested in progressive education since she started studying the brain and how it develops in children. She’s currently studying to become a Holistic Family Health Coach and previously completed a […]