This article considers the role of experiments in learning in movements to democratise higher education "under the rule of capital" (Gutierrez, Navarro and Linsalata 2017). It focuses on the emergence of a new generation of "free universities" in the United Kingdom, situating these in a historical tradition of educational…

Free universities are diverse but loosely networked projects that resist repressive capitalist and state configurations of power by re-imagining teaching, learning and research on their own terms, often through radical and ongoing experimentation. Drawing from my own experiences as a co-founder and organiser of the Brisbane Free University, along…

This article features a conversation on the occasion of a May 2018 "Festschrift" in "Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies" to honor the work of William Newell, between Newell and P. Sven Arvidson. William Newell is Emeritus Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University, where he taught interdisciplinary courses full…

The need for increased creativity in education is currently being proposed in much innovative thinking on higher education as universities are forced to recreate themselves. There are four conditions facing higher education worldwide: alignment, motivation, connection, and direction. Higher education is characterized by a hierarchy of subjects and…

In Flanders, action research as a means of enhancing quality in initial teacher training and in teaching practice is not as widespread as in some of the neighbouring countries. In this article the authors argue for trainees and qualified teachers setting up and conducting research in their teaching practice. Rather than perceiving this as an…

The search for the atypical and non-mainstream college has been rather fruitless. The major universities, the graduate schools, and the academic guilds are found to be in almost full command of the system, and practically every other institution seems to be emulating them. (Author)

Two graduates of Hampshire College discuss their experiences at the innovative institution and its future chances to resist conventional molds. (Author/PG)

Provision needs to be made in California for alternative educational forms because: (1) there is currently a great deal of dissatisfaction with prevailing arrangements, and since there is no agreement on one ideal form or system, the best procedure is to set up probes of alternative futures; (2) the needs of society, like those of individual…

Constant change and innovation is the major theme of the main campus of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and its network of campuses, field centers, and widespread job and foreign study linkages. (HS)

This catalog of Evergreen State College, a college in Olympia, Washington that first opened its doors to students in September 1971, presents an overview of the unique academic program offered at the college. Information is given on courses offered in the past, information concerning supporting services, policies and procedures to be followed in…

This book catalogues the free university/alternative school movement's exploration of ways education can be organized, directed, evaluated, and modified by its consumers. Emphasis is placed on the purpose of free universities, unlearning, course organizing, credit, the mechanics of organizing courses for credit, publicity, funding, bureaucracy,…

In January 1972, The University of Alabama held a 4-day invitational conference to bring together the leaders of those institutions that offer innovative and experimental programs. Specifically, the purposes of the conference were: (1) to share critical reports from each participant about each of their programs; (2) to make recommendations…

The philosophy behind the free university emphasizes independent learning and disapproves of traditional curricula. In general, this educational effort has failed beacuse of its inability to compete with established institutions of higher learning. (CK)

Despite social and educational change and greatly reduced visibility, the cluster college concept remains in use in many institutions, in both the federated colleges and subcollege cluster models, and in some cases substantially changed in form. (MSE)

Article analyzes the impetus for alternative schools' development, their present status, and reactions to their development. (Editor)