Alternative Education: An Overview

Abstract

The meaning of the terms alternative education and alternative school have varied over different times and places. Alternative schools and alternative education programs display diverse theories and practices. They are, in fact, like empty drinking cups into which all manner of beverages may be poured, and at times have even been used for functions other than cups (Raywid 1999, p. 47). The reality is that alternative education has functioned variously as, for example, individualized education of the kind found in child-centered education, as remedial education for ‘problem’ children, and as special education for gifted children.