Who we are
What is Democratic Education Ireland?
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Democratic Education Ireland was established in 2022 as an umbrella organisation for all democratic schools on the island of Ireland.
Our main goals are:
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To inform the Irish public about the theory and practice of democratic education;
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To support existing democratic schools in fulfilling their mission;
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To support groups and individuals who wish to establish new democratic schools;
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To facilitate research on democratic education
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We intend to fulfil those goals in a variety of ways, such as:
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Developing standards of excellence for member schools;
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Organizing meetings to share our knowledge, experience and ideas;
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Developing training in democratic education practices;
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Organising research conferences/symposia;
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Facilitating staff and student exchanges across our member schools (and beyond);
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Publishing;
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Lobbying the government;
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Fundraising
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We are happy to collaborate with individuals and organisations that share some of our goals, in Ireland and beyond. Our natural allies are IDEC (International Democratic Education Network) and EUDEC (European Democratic Education Community).
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Legally, we operate as a company limited by guarantee (company number 734660). Since we are a not-for-profit organisation established to advance public welfare, we intend to apply for charitable status soon.
What is democratic education?
In 2005, the participants of the IDEC conference in Berlin attempted to provide a formal definition of democratic education (see here and here). They settled on two principles:
First, students have the right “to make their own choices regarding learning and all other areas of everyday life. In particular, they may individually determine what to do, when, where, how and with whom, so long as their decisions do not infringe on the liberty of others to do the same”.
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Putting it more succinctly: democratic education is child-led, or self-directed.
Second, every student has the right “to have an equal share in the decision making as to how their organisations – in particular their schools – are run, and which rules and sanctions, if any, are necessary”.
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In other words: in democratic education everyone – whether an adult or a child – has equal voice and equal vote in decision making.
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Each democratic school worthy of its name must meet the above criteria.
Professor Peter Gray (2016a, 2016b) sees democratic schools as a part of broader landscape of self-directed learning, alongside unschooling, and co-op learning resource centres. For him, all forms of self-directed learning must share the following five principles:
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Education is acknowledged to be the child’s responsibility – not the parent’s or the teacher’s
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Children have unlimited opportunity to play and to develop passions
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Children have unlimited opportunity to play with the tools of the culture
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Children have access to a variety of caring adults that act as helpers, not judges
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Children of different ages are allowed to mix freely
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Children are immersed in a stable, moral, democratic, community
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At one of the early meetings of Democratic Education Ireland, we turned the above principles into more concrete, operational attributes.
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So, for us, a democratic school means:
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A school that is governed as a direct democracy. School rules are decided collectively through deliberation and vote. Every member of the school – whether a student or a staff member – has equal voice and equal vote in those decisions. The enforcement of those rules is subject to the same democratic process. The only limit to that democratic governance process is the Irish law, which must be observed at all times.
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A school where children have freedom to spend their time as they see fit, within the limits of the law and the rules of conduct agreed by the whole school community. There are no compulsory curricula, no compulsory learning or recreational activities, and no compulsory assessment. All
types of pursuits and activities are valued equally. -
A school that accepts students within a minimum age range of 6-18 years, who are allowed to mix
freely. -
A school where staff members support the students in their pursuits, uphold the school ethos, ensuring that the school fulfils its mission and meets its legal obligations.
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A school which is inclusive, lowering barriers to participation as much as possible without compromising its ethos.
Our team
Gayle Nagle
Gayle is a long-term advocate for student-centred education in Ireland. She's working at the Sligo Sudbury School and a director at DemEd Ireland.
Jessica Mason
Jessica's desire to provide self-directed learning opportunities for her own children grew a lot bigger when she co-started the West Cork Sudbury School. She's a director at DemEd Ireland.
Isabel Kuroczka
Izzy manages the office at the Sligo Sudbury School and fulfils many of the administrative tasks that come with running a school. She's also a director at DemEd Ireland.
Ciara Brehony
Ciara is one of the founders of the Wicklow Democratic School. She also works as a director at DemEd Ireland.
Claire Supervie
Claire is the creative mastermind at the West Cork Sudbury School. She also fulfils the role as director for DemEd Ireland.
MarcinSzczerbinski
Marcin is a psychology lecturer at the University College Cork. He is also helping out DemEd Ireland as a director.