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:

• Education is acknowledged to be the child’s responsibility – not the parent’s or the teacher’s

• Children have unlimited opportunity to play and to develop passions

• Children have unlimited opportunity to play with the tools of the culture

• Children have access to a variety of caring adults that act as helpers, not judges

• Children of different ages are allowed to mix freely

• 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:

• 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. 

• 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. 

• A school which is inclusive, lowering barriers to participation as much as possible without compromising its ethos.