Providing an account of the progressive philosophy of A.S. Neill, and the alternative education programme offered by Summerhill School, this book may be of interest to policy makers and teachers wishing to critically examine their practice.
Summerhill: a radical approach to child rearing
Character and non-cognitive development
Education research
Education theory
Learning styles and cognitive development
Pastoral care and wellbeing
Pupil development and support
Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education (SMSC)
Teaching/classroom practice
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Synopsis
In this book, Neill describes his progressive school experiment in England – Summerhill School – and the philosophy that informed his approach and the management of the school.
Summerhill was founded in the 1920s and created a community in which pupils could be free from adult authority. An important freedom at Summerhill was the right to play: all lessons were optional and there was no pressure to conform to adult ideas of growing up, though the community itself had expectations of reasonable conduct from everyone. Neill believed in the innate goodness of children, and emphasized self-regulation, personal responsibility, freedom from fear, "freedom in sex play", and loving understanding over moral instruction or force.
Some considered this is a pioneering example of liberal, progressive child- centred education: others, as a bogus, failed experiment, with no basis in science. It has been much discussed ever since.