Transcending Conventional Boundaries of Education through Democracy and Emotional Expression

The research explores the concept of Democracy and Emotional Expression in an educational setup provided by an alternative school. An alternative school consciously intends to transcend the traditional borders of an educational system, as they believe that children have an innate desire to learn. Some alternative schools believe that democracy and emotional expression prepares a child to be responsible, self-aware, and enables them to face challenges of life. Data was collected from one alternative school in the city of Bangalore. The sample consisted of 8 students (4 males and 4 females) from the age group of 10-12 years and 2 faculty members. A focus group discussion was initiated by the researchers for the students in order to understand the perspectives and attitudes towards democracy and emotional expression in their school. Data was gathered from the faculty members with the help of a semi structured interview. The purpose was to investigate how students and staff operationalized the term democracy in the context of education, the methods implemented in facilitating democracy, the frequency of its use, challenges faced by both students and faculty, implication as well as its limitations. The transcribed data was analysed through content analysis. The results were corroborated with the assumptions of the study. The findings of this study serve as a platform for further research to highlight how such a system can develop the student's ability to direct their own lives, be accountable for their actions, and transfer learning from such an environment to various complex tasks in their lives.