Editing Colin Ward (section)

== Thought ==

=== Anarchism ===
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Ward's philosophy aimed at removing [[authoritarian]] forms of [[social organisation]] and replacing them with [[Workers' self-management|self-managed]], non-hierarchical forms. This is based upon the principle that, as Ward put it, "in small face-to-face groups, the [[bureaucracy|bureaucratising]] and [[social hierarchy|hierarchical]] tendencies inherent in organisations have least opportunity to develop".<ref>« in small face-to-face groups, the bureaucratising and hierarchical tendencies inherent in organisations have least opportunity to develop », 
Colin Ward, ''Anarchism as a Theory of Organization'', 1966.</ref>

Anarchism for Ward is "a description of a mode of human organization, rooted in the experience of everyday life, which operates side by side with, and in spite of, the dominant authoritarian trends of our society".<ref>Colin Ward, ''Anarchism as a Theory of Organization'', Freedom Press, London, 1988, p. 14</ref> In contrast to many anarchist philosophers and practitioners, Ward holds that "anarchism in all its guises is an assertion of human dignity and responsibility. It is not a programme for political change but an act of social self-determination".<ref>Colin Ward, ''Anarchism as a Theory of Organization'', Freedom Press, London, 1988, p. 143</ref>

=== Education ===
Colin Ward in his main theoretical publication ''[[Anarchy in Action]]'' (1973) in a chapter called "Schools No Longer" "discusses the genealogy of education and schooling, in particular examining the writings of [[Everett Reimer]] and [[Ivan Illich]], and the beliefs of anarchist educator [[Paul Goodman]]. Many of Colin’s writings in the 1970s, in particular ''Streetwork: The Exploding School'' (1973, with Anthony Fyson), focused on learning practices and spaces outside of the school building. In introducing ''Streetwork'', Ward writes, "[this] is a book about ideas: ideas of the environment as the educational resource, ideas of the enquiring school, the school without walls...”. In the same year, Ward contributed to ''Education Without Schools'' (edited by Peter Buckman) discussing 'the role of the state'. He argued that "one significant role of the state in the national education systems of the world is to perpetuate social and economic injustice"".<ref name="infed.org">[http://www.infed.org/thinkers/colin_ward.htm Mills, S. (2010) 'Colin Ward: The ‘Gentle’ Anarchist and Informal Education’ at ''the encyclopaedia of informal education.'']</ref>

In ''The Child in the City'' (1978), and later ''The Child in the Country'' (1988), Ward "examined the everyday spaces of young people’s lives and how they can negotiate and re-articulate the various environments they inhabit. In his earlier text, the more famous of the two, Colin Ward explores the creativity and uniqueness of children and how they cultivate 'the art of making the city work'. He argued that through play, appropriation and imagination, children can counter adult-based intentions and interpretations of the built environment. His later text, The Child in the Country, inspired a number of social scientists, notably geographer [[Chris Philo]] (1992), to call for more attention to be paid to young people as a 'hidden' and marginalised group in society."<ref name="infed.org"/>