PARENTS - FOUNDERS OF ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

The traditional school system has not met the needs of students for many years. Parents, in order to allow their children to move away from the rigid class-subject-hour system, established schools. The founders of alternative schools can be citizens, parents and teachers, religious communities as well as other legal entities. These are the so-called free schools, civic educational initiatives, reform pedagogical attempts, educational boarding schools, etc. The aim of this paper is to present the pedagogical concepts and ideas of schools in the Republic of Croatia whose founders are parents. The paper presents the basic pedagogical principles and aspects of teaching Waldorf and Montessori pedagogy based on educational pluralism, a brief overview of partnership between parents and schools in Croatia and the educational model of primary Catholic schools “Ružičnjak” and “Lotrščak”. The observed schools are located in Zagreb and have only one goal - to adapt the school to the child. An effort is made to provide each student with an individual approach. The starting points are the child’s needs and interests. These are the schools where students have freedom of choice. The goal of upbringing and education is the holistic development of the child. The emphasis is on active learning methods and abandoning didactic scenarios in which the child is only a passive observer.