ABSTRACT

Alternative Approaches to Education provides parents and teachers with information and guidance on different education options in the UK and further afield. This new and expanded edition, including additional chapters and up-to-date contact details, explains the values, philosophies and methods of a range of alternative approaches available outside and within the state system, as well as if you’re ‘doing it yourself’.

Illustrated throughout with the first-hand experiences of children, teachers and parents, it provides lists of useful contacts, sources of further information and answers to common questions. Together with brand new chapters on recent research and contemporary debates, and on Free Schools, it covers:

  • Small alternative schools
  • Steiner Waldorf education
  • Democratic schools
  • Alternatives in the state system
  • Parents as change agents
  • Setting up a Small School or Learning Centre
  • Home-based education
  • Flexible schooling

Exploring why alternative approaches to education are needed, this accessible and informative book challenges the dominant educational orthodoxies by putting children first. It will be of interest to teachers looking to build on their knowledge of different educational approaches in order to find new ways of working. It is also an ideal introduction for parents deciding how best to educate their children.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

part 1|25 pages

Making the case

chapter 1|8 pages

Education - what for?

chapter 2|15 pages

Recent research and contemporary debates

part 2|114 pages

Alternative approaches to education

chapter 3|25 pages

Small alternative schools

chapter 4|29 pages

Steiner Waldorf education

chapter 5|16 pages

Montessori education

chapter 6|15 pages

Democratic schools

chapter 7|27 pages

Other philosophies, other schools

part 3|51 pages

Alternative approaches in the state system

chapter 8|23 pages

State schools: different ways of working

chapter 9|10 pages

Free Schools

chapter 10|10 pages

Lessons from other places

chapter 11|6 pages

Parents as change agents

part 4|50 pages

Doing it yourself

chapter 12|15 pages

Setting up a small school or learning centre

chapter 13|18 pages

Home-based education

chapter 14|10 pages

Flexible schooling

chapter |5 pages

Conclusion