This study examines parental choice preferences following the introduction of the Free Schools policy in England. It reports on two phases of data collection: first, the analysis of factors that Free School and non-Free School parents reported as important in informing their choices; and, second, findings from semi-structured interviews with…

This paper examines how the English educational state has consistently acted to support private schooling in areas where fee-paying schools would be otherwise financially unviable. Educational data on private school participation since the 2008 financial crisis reveals the stark regional divides between London and the South-East of England and the…

This article examines the pattern of placement of students with significant special educational needs at Statement and School Action Plus levels in English secondary schools, comparing sponsored and converter academies, maintained schools and the newly created free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges for 2013 and 2014. The…

What should be the continuing role of founders in schools supporting self-directed learning? To answer this, the founders' views of two North American schools for self-directed learners will be compared. One school is exam-focused and private; the other is, test-free and public. The founders of both schools have comparable beliefs regarding the…

This paper considers the pupil intakes to Academies in England, and their attainment, based on a re-analysis of figures from the Annual Schools Census 1989-2012, the Department for Education School Performance Tables 2004-2012 and the National Pupil Database. It looks at the national picture, and the situation for Local Education Authorities, and…

Last year, fifth-graders at the Herricks Union Free School District in New Hyde Park, New York, studied the U.S. presidential primaries while following elections in Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Kenya. At South Brunswick High School in Southport, North Carolina, history students discuss battles of the Civil War via live teleconferences with counterparts…

This article presents Fairhaven School, located in a still-bucolic area near Washington, which operates in a way that would baffle many educators, much less the public. Known as a "free school," Fairhaven offers students a radical alternative to the demands of traditional education since it was founded in 1998. In this article, the author…

The school described here operates on the principle that play for the sake of play, without unsolicited adult intervention, entails the acquisition of skills and knowledge. Sudbury Valley School promotes cultural acquisition in a manner harmonious with the child's biological self-education system, without age segregation, grading, or academic…

Mary Leue started the Free School, an independent, alternative elementary school in inner-city Albany (New York), based on open democratic education dedicated to the authentic lives of children. Other accomplishments include a community-investment organization, a magazine of alternative education, a magazine for empowering families, and a…

Since 1936, this Phoenixville (Pennsylvania) school, summer day camp, and day care center for children aged 2-7 has implemented the philosophy that children learn best through play, in a nurturing environment where loving people attend to their physical and emotional needs and their intellectual and artistic growth. Contains a resource list of…

Examines variables involved in the survival and failure of free schools. Areas discussed include the philosophy of the school and the application of it, the school organization, school financing, children's and parents' misunderstanding of the school's purpose, the role of the parents, and demands on the teachers. (DS)

Our objective was to examine factors associated with compliance and support for a smoke-free campus before and after a 1995 campus-wide smoking ban for everyone, including teachers and visitors, in California. Adolescent (12-17 years) data from the 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2002 (N approximately 6000 each year) California Tobacco Surveys…

Four teachers who founded a free school summarize their experience for the benefit of other groups who might want to do so. Topics covered include the economics of running a school, finding a building, deciding what grades to begin with, assembling a staff, administrative structure, working with a local public school, and establishing a…

Chris Mercogliano's book tells how teachers and students at Albany Free School create their own curriculum daily in a free-wheeling atmosphere shunning competition, compulsory learning, and social-based status awards. Founded in 1969, the school advocates attending to emotional and interpersonal dimensions of students' everyday lives. (MLH)