Democratic Education in Practice
Inside the Mission Hill School

Matthew Knoester (Edited by), Deborah W. Meier (Foreword by)

9780807753804

Paperback / softback, published 23 December 2012

208 pages
22.6 x 15.4 x 1.7 cm, 0.307 kg

The Mission Hill School, founded by MacArthur Award winner Deborah Meier and colleagues in 1997, is a small public school that has rethought almost everything about the process of teaching and learning. Beyond richly describing and evaluating this high-achieving school, the author argues that democratic education is increasingly difficult in this era of testing and standardisation and that a school such as Mission Hill must be continually thoughtful, innovative, and courageous in counteracting systemic inequality. This in-depth examination is essential reading for anyone interested in how to better understand seemingly intractable problems related to urban public education in the United States.

Book Features:

• An exemplary model of democratic education that shows the inner workings of a largely teacher-governed school.
• A rare example of an urban school implementing Dewey-influenced progressive pedagogy.
• In-depth descriptions of an anti-racist and culturally relevant pedagogy and curriculum.
• A close examination of successful practices, including shared decision making, intensive problem solving, and looking at student work.