This is a list of recommended literature and resources:

Jay Griffiths, Kith: The Riddle of the Childscape (Hamish Hamilton Ltd, 2013)

A.S. Neill, Summerhill. A New View of Childhood. (St. Martin’s Griffin, New York, 1998) (We recommend this revised and expanded edition, edited by Albert Lamb)   –  (A. S. Neil’s school Summerhill was the original democratic school which opened in the 1920s in England. Other democratic schools take their inspiration from Summerhill. It is a funny and inspirational book, written in everyday language and not theoretical at all. It reads as a novel.)

Peter Hartkamp, Beyond Coercive Education. A Plea for the Realisation of the Rights of the Child in Education. (The Quantum Company, 2016)

Peter Gray, Free to Learn. Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play will Make Our Children Happier,  More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. (New York, Basic Books, 2015)

David Elkind, The Power of Play. How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier and Healthier Children. (Da Capo Lifelong, 2007) (The importance of play at all stages of development and why children need unstructured time to play freely.)

Tim Gill. No Fear Growing Up In A Risk Averse Society. (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2007) (A British writer and journalist who also advocates the importance of play and free time.)

Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. (Atlantic Books, 2010)

VIDEOS

‘Summerhill’ (2008, director Jon East firstly shown on CBBC and it won 3 Children’s Bafta Award – now found on Youtube)

‘Do Schools Kill Creativity?’ Ken Robinson (on Ted Talks or Youtube)

‘Schooling the world. The White Man’s Last Burden’ directed by Carol Black (65 minutes found on Youtube)