What Is Democratic Education?

What arrives in mind when you ponder of democracy? For many people, the word democracy draw out thoughts of freedom and autonomy from the government or at least full choice in governmental decisions. The idea of choice and control is at the heart of democratic education. Choice, the ability to have autonomy in the command of one's own educational path, and control, the capability to decide how to approach major educational needs, are the two main principles of democratic education. Scholars are given choice and control over their own educational path. 

It is simple to say that students should have a choice in their educational paths and control over their own educational goals, but what does that mean in the actual classroom? In most democratic classrooms, teachers should inventively attract students in activities that are of the students' choosing. For some students, this may mean quiet worksheets, but for most, this is very likely hands-on manipulative work. Students should be authorized to choose an area of study, and the whole educational plan should revolve around that subject area.

The most prime benefit of democratic education is student ownership of their education. When people retain their choices, they are more engaged in making those choices work for their own sake and good. When a choice is pushed on a person without permission, the person does not have a sight of ownership, and thus, does not always feel forced to work to make the situation a success. However, when they have selected a path, they do not want to crash because they own the choice, and thus, will own the failure as well. Ownership leads to engagement, which leads to prosperity in education, and that is the goal of every educational institution.

Other, more benefits are:

• Greater attendance
• Higher participation in educational activities
• Inflated student achievement
• Increased inherent motivation.