Democratic education in public schools: is it possible?

*This article is a translation of the original article “Educazione democratica nella scuola pubblica, si può fare?”, published in the digital newspaper Italia che Cambia and can be read here Projects with innovative didactic and pedagogical proposals, focused on the enhancement of talents, practical skills, and contact with the natural world, are increasingly common. However, […]

DESC

Feb 2022 – Jul 2024

Research report: democratic education in schools (executive summary)

View as a pdf Democratic education is an educational philosophy that has existed since the end of the XIX century. It is grounded on two fundamental principles: SELF-DETERMINATIONChildren making primary decisions regarding their learning experiences, emphasising autonomy. DEMOCRATIC COMMUNITY PROCESSESChildren learn to articulate their views, collaborate and negotiate agreements through democratic community processes in which […]

Education in nature: the bedrock of our future

Education in nature is the bedrock of the European Union’s inclusive green transition – a green transition that needs to guarantee children’s rights and well-being while recognising education as essential towards its achievement.Without reconnecting children with nature, our common goals to reduce carbon emissions and protect biodiversity are meant to remain limited. Indeed, learning in […]

Guidelines: Democratic Education in Nature

DEN (Democratic Education in Nature) is a European project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme (Key Action 2 – Cooperation for Innovation and Exchange of Good Practices). Responding to the needs of offering innovative pedagogical experiences promoting children’s environmental stewardship, active citizenship and promotion of inner motivation and talents, the project has the ambition to systematise […]

Workshop proceedings: Democratic Education in Nature

The Democratic Education in Nature consortium convened a cycle of workshops from the 2nd of February to the 23rd of February 2023 called “Democratic Education in Nature: putting quality education in practice”. The Workshop was held in virtual format. Four sessions, each 3 hours in length, brought together 50 participants live and other 70 who […]