Abstract
Does an assembly make a school a democratic space? What happens if a participant is not interested? Democracy for innovation or democracy for social transformation? Can a democratic school be neutral and apolitical? These are some of the questions this article will try to discuss by focusing on democratic aspects of alternative educational proposals. Based on an anthropological, ethnographic, and comparative study of three alternative schools and educational projects in Catalonia, this article sheds light on the challenges and contradictions but also the potential hidden behind such initiatives. More specifically, it first explores educational change in Catalonia through time and on the present, stressing its current depoliticization. Then, based on three ethnographic cases from the public, private, and self-organized educational sector, the article draws attention to aspects of decision-making and participation. It is argued that democratic assemblarian processes are important but with limited efficiency toward social transformation if engaging certain profiles and if restricted to the school context only.
Recommended Citation
Menegaki, M.
(2025).
Exploring the Democratic Challenges and Potential of Alternative Education.
Democracy & Education,
33
(2), Article 5.
Available at:
https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol33/iss2/5