Alternative education refers to a variety of teaching and learning methods that are not associated with regular public or private schools. These methods can be used with pupils of various ages and levels of education, from infancy to adulthood. This type of education is also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative.
Educational alternatives are the consequence of educational reform, and they are based on a variety of fundamentally distinct ideas from those of regular state education. These are schools that have steam out of
- Political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations and agendas
- Others are informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of mainstream education.
Independent schools, home-based learning, charter schools, etc., are examples of educational alternatives that emphasize the importance of small class sizes, intimate interactions between students and teachers, and a sense of community.
Alternative educational models have coexisted with the public education system since its start in the first half of the nineteenth century (Raywid, 1999). Attempts by the state to offer all children a common, culturally uniting education have prompted educators, parents, and students to refuse to participate in these systems. Their motivations are varied, as are the types of schooling (and non-schooling) they created.
