Developing a Participatory Approach to Learning

Abstract

Beginning with a survey of Bahá’í writings and of emerging Bahá’í approaches to education, the article charts the Macau-based School of the Nations’ philosophy of education and considers its implications for the school’s curriculum development process. The article then proposes that the cooperative approach to education offers a potential instructional model within which Bahá’í principles and ideals, with their emphasis on moral education, participation, cooperation, and consultation, could be effectively implemented. Finally, the article discusses the school’s tentative experiments with this model and the steps taken to begin the model’s systematic implementation. The successful continuation of the project, the article suggests, will largely depend on the school’s ability to overcome the constraints imposed by the dominant competitive attitudes and practices and to gain acceptance of the value of a participatory and cooperative approach.

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Eighth Annual Conference of the Hong Kong Educational Research Association. While the author takes full responsibility for the views expressed here, appreciation and thanks are due to the administration and staff of the School of the Nations who provided inspiration and stimulating ideas that made this paper possible.