Deschooling Society

Deschooling Society (1971) is an essay by the Austrian thinker Ivan Illich, a priest and a sharp critic of modern institutions. It appeared at a time of strong questioning of compulsory schooling in the West, and it drew wide public attention to its author. Its starting point is provocative: Illich argues that institutionalised schooling is ineffective at delivering what it promises, that real learning happens mostly outside the classroom, and that the school system turns knowledge into a commodity and into a requirement for social status.

Illich does not stop at criticism. He proposes self-directed learning, supported by intentional social relationships and by fluid, informal arrangements. His central claim is that institutionalising education leads to the institutionalisation of society as a whole, so that de-institutionalising learning might help open the way to a less hierarchical society. To this end he suggests using advanced technology to support decentralised learning webs, and he describes four: a reference service for educational resources, a skills exchange, a peer-matching network linking people with shared interests, and a directory of professional educators detailing their qualifications and terms.

The book had considerable influence on the educational debates of the 1970s. Its proposals, however, drew criticism: the educational historian Lawrence Cremin noted that Illich never fully explained how these networks would work in the real world. Illich also distanced himself from advocates of free-market education, whom he regarded as among the most dangerous of school reformers.