Where it is used
Each entry identifies the volume, edition, chapter or appendix in which the work appears.
The evidence behind the series
Follow the research.
Explore every source.
Browse the scientific research and professional literature used across all seven volumes of The Science of Learning for Educators.
7book volumes
8author ranges
1searchable library
Search the collection
Find a paper, author or idea.
Choose an author range, search a title or concept, or narrow the collection by source type. Open any result to see where it appears in the books, read its evidence summary and follow available source links.
2 references
-
- Vol 4 RE: Chapter 15, App C
democratic schoolingstudent autonomyschool governancepostschool pathwaysself-directionretrospective outcomesJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Gray and Chanoff report a follow-up study of former students from Sudbury Valley School, an ungraded democratic school where students choose their activities and share formal governance with staff. Interviews and records examine further education, employment, interests, and retrospective judgments.
Key ideas
Graduates entered varied occupations and many pursued college despite lacking conventional courses, grades, and transcripts; respondents commonly described strengths in responsibility, self-direction, confidence, and relationships with authority. Reported disadvantages included explaining the school to outsiders and, for some, gaps requiring later preparation. The study challenges predictions that unrestricted choice necessarily produces idleness or inability to function in structured institutions. It does not, however, provide random assignment, a representative national sample, or a matched comparison group.
Why it matters
Families and students selected this unusual school, and retrospective self-report can favour positive interpretations. The evidence is best read as demonstrating that this model can support viable pathways for some young people, not that democratic schooling will produce identical outcomes for every learner or context.
-
- Vol 4 RE: Chapter 15, App C
democratic school governancestudent decision-makingvoluntary classescommunity accountabilityinformal apprenticeshipschool autonomyBook Evidence summaryAt a glance
Greenberg describes daily life and the educational philosophy of Sudbury Valley School through short narratives about students, staff, play, age mixing, learning, governance, discipline, and responsibility. Students decide how to use their time; classes arise voluntarily; and the School Meeting, in which each student and staff member has one vote, controls rules, budgets, staffing, and institutional affairs.
Key ideas
A judicial process addresses alleged rule violations, joining freedom with due process and community accountability. The stories argue that curiosity, persistence, informal apprenticeship, conversation, and access to people and resources can generate substantial learning without a compulsory curriculum, grades, or age-based progression. The book is a founder’s interpretive account and advocacy text, not an independent outcome evaluation. Its examples demonstrate how one long-running school operationalises democratic education but cannot establish effects for all children.
Why it matters
Readers should distinguish the model’s principles from causal evidence and consider accessibility, safeguarding, additional learning needs, cultural context, and the resources required to sustain genuine choice.
View or buy the cited work >>Read a similar article free online >>
A transparent research trail
More than a bibliography.
What it contributes
Evidence summaries explain the central idea and why the source matters to educators.
How to access it
Entries link to lawful full text where available, or to a publisher, library or purchase page.
Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
Citation checks
References are checked against publisher records, scholarly indexes, DOI or ISBN metadata, repositories and author records where available. An entry marked [Citation not verified] preserves the wording found in the relevant volume without attributing findings to an unconfirmed work.
From sources to a coherent pathway