| Abstract [eng] |
This master’s thesis examines the concept of distinctive education and its formation in small community-based schools. The relevance of the study is grounded in the growing number of schools in Lithuania that develop their educational practice not through a single institutionalised pedagogical system, but through community culture, relationships, reflection, alternative governance, connection with nature, and a holistic view of the child. Although such practices exist, the concept remains insufficiently defined in educational science and Lithuanian education policy. The aim of the study is to develop a theoretical model explaining how distinctive education is formed and functions in a community-based school. The research was conducted using qualitative grounded theory methodology. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed through theoretical sampling, constant comparison, coding, memo writing, and theoretical saturation. The study involved participants occupying different positions within small community-based schools. The findings reveal that distinctive education cannot be understood merely as a set of methods or as a formal type of alternative schooling. Rather, it emerges as a living educational ecosystem created within a community, where curriculum, relationships, environment, the child’s well-being, the teacher’s stance, parental participation, and organisational agreements function as interconnected elements. The central category developed in the thesis defines distinctive education as a safe environment for a child’s growth, grounded in relationships, nature, and community. In this environment, the child is accepted as they are, learning is connected with life and experience, and freedom is accompanied by responsibility. The study also shows that distinctiveness is not a self-sustaining quality of a school; it needs to be continuously reflected upon and protected from formalisation and excessive academisation. |
