General Information
With this diploma, our school, the [NAME OF SCHOOL], presents the strengths, qualities, academic skills, and other competencies that Sam Sample has gained and accomplished.
Democratic Schools
[NAME OF SCHOOL] is part of an international network of democratic schools that work according to the following principle:
“We believe that, in any educational setting, young people have the right
- to decide individually how, when, what, where and with whom they learn and
- to have an equal share in the decision-making as to how their organisations – in particular their schools – are run, and which rules and sanctions, if any, are necessary.”
More information about this type of school can be found, for example, on the website of the European Democratic Education Community (EUDEC – www.eudec.org), as well as on the website of the [NAME OF SCHOOL] ([WEBSITE OF SCHOOL]).
Key Competencies
Experience has shown that people acquire the following key competencies while attending a democratic school:
The special organization of the learning process develops:
- personal responsibility
- independence
- conscious choice of interests
- emotional intelligence
- self-awareness
- ability to work in a team
- flexibility
- openness to the opinions of others
- ability to deal with criticism
- capability in negotiation and conflict resolution
- sense of responsibility for others
Previous version :
(It has been voted on at the 2011 and 2015 AGMs.)
Preface
Through this diploma, our school, (school’s name), presents (individual’s name)’s developments, strengths, qualities, academic skills, and other acquired competencies which he/she has had the opportunity to develop.
Democratic schools aim to provide a context for each student to practice freedom and responsibility by finding their own way of being and becoming.
(school’s name) is part of an international network of democratic schools that work according to the following principle:
“We believe that, in any educational setting, young people have the right to decide individually how, when, what, where and with whom they learn and to have an equal share in the decision-making as to how their organizations – in particular their schools – are run, and which rules and sanctions, if any, are necessary.” (Resolution of the International Democratic Education Conference, Berlin 2005)
More information about this type of school can be found, for example, on the website of the European Democratic Education Community (EUDEC – www.eudec.org), as well as on the (school’s name) website (school’s web-address).
Graduates from democratic schools thrive in a great variety of professional and higher education environments, especially those that require autonomy and creativity.
Experience has shown that graduates from democratic schools acquire skills that develop independence. They acquire a sense of personal responsibility by self-directing their lives and learning, and they are good at making conscious choices of interest in regard to their daily activities as well as their plans for the future. By naturally cooperating with people of various ages with diverse backgrounds and personalities, they naturally strengthen their sense of empathy and develop an awareness of themselves.
Democratic schools set up governing structures run by students and staff together. Frequent meetings are a place of questioning, debating, and decision making, which develop eloquence, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills. Through their experiences, students tend to become more open to the opinions of others, deal with criticism better, and take greater responsibility for the community as a whole. Students’ high level of participation in the organisation of everyday school life results in developing their entrepreneurial skills, their ability to work in teams, and their flexibility to adapt to different project environments.