DEMOCRATIC SCHOOLS - DERRY HANNAM
During the "International Conference of Participatory Schools 4 Better Democracy", organized by the Cooperative ECOS in the University of Algarve (Portugal) on the 19th to 21st April 2017, we had the pleasure to meet Derry Hannam, an inspiring figure in the world of democratic education.
Derry Hannam studied educational science at Oxford University and practised student democracy and participation in decision making during his work as a state school teacher for 20 years. Derry was also a headteacher of a large secondary school in England which pioneered the role of community school, and later he became a school inspector, taking part of the successful defense of Summerhill School against the threat of closure by the government in 1999. Currently, he is an adviser/trainer/rapporteur for the Council of Europe for Democratic Citizenship Education and a researcher/adviser to the development of citizenship education in the national curriculum of the UK.
At the request of the English ministry of Education, Derry authored the "Hannam Report" (alternativestoschool.com/pdfs/...) based on research that shows correlations between democratic methods in schools and higher academic results, less anti-social behaviour and higher school attendance, especially for students from socio-economically deprived backgrounds. This report is an extremely valuable resource for those who attempt to develop a more democratic and participatory approach in schools.
Moreover, Derry Hannam has worked with many European school student organisations such as OBESSU (European School Students Organisation) and FSS (Finnish School Students Organisation), and has been a member of the International Student Voice Research Network, based at Cambridge University.
[This description was based on the Biographical Notes of the Conference booklet]
As we dream of building a learning community based on democratic practice and have been looking for inspiring schools to learn from , we asked Derry about inspiring democratic schools around the world. He pointed out that every democratic school is unique, and there are many ways to develop a democratic education. Moreover, he raised the question of whether it's possible to create a single model to fulfil everyone's needs.
- Network of Democratic Citizenship Schools (Facebook Page): / nodcs
- Student Voice Research and Practice (Facebook Group): / studentvoicepage
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WONDERING SCHOOL
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