John Holt, the American educator, was passionate about the need for alternatives to traditional institutional schooling, seeing schools as often hindering children from learning rather than helping them; he became an important proponent of homeschooling or ‘unschooling’, was a pioneer in youth rights theory and had a profound influence on school reform in particular and educational philosophy in general.

Here, Roland Meighan challenges the often held notion that Holt’s work was ‘romantic’ and impractical within the context of compulsory schooling. He brings together the work and thinking of John Holt into applicable theory for education students, enabling readers to appreciate the view that individuals outside the education system can influence and change what is happening within it.