A Delphi Study: The Characteristics of Democratic Schools

Abstract

The authors aim to identify characteristics of democratic schools. The Delphi technique used in this study is based on attaining a consensus among a group of experts over 3 rounds with 22 experts from 9 countries participating in the first round. By the end of the third round, 339 items referring to democratic school characteristics were identified, categorized into values and philosophy, collaborative learning organization, founding process, decision-making model, policy forming, curriculum, learner, teaching staff, nonteaching staff, relations, physical properties, and financial resource management. The result shows that every single category bears importance in creating a democratic school.