About this Research Topic

Background

The first Waldorf school opened in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919. World War I had ended the year before. Emperor Wilhelm II had been forced to abdicate. Revolution in Germany brought about a change of regime. Emil Molt, Director of the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Factory at Stuttgart, saw a turning-point in the relationship of the affluent and working classes. Molt saw the need to bring these classes together through a common education. He conceived the idea of setting up a school so that the children of workers could receive the same education as his own son. Molt asked the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, a contemporary of Maria Montessori and John Dewey, to design the curriculum; Steiner shared their belief in active learning. He provided educational opportunities and training for teachers to facilitate the natural growth of the child. There was widespread interest in democratizing education and Waldorf schools (also called “Steiner schools”) spread to other nations. However, the rise of the Nazi party and the eruption of World War II forced the closure of most Waldorf schools in Europe. However, Waldorf schools rebounded after the war.

Rudolf Steiner saw child development as taking place in three seven-year stages, focused on doing, feeling and thinking. Known for their broad curriculum and arts-based teaching methods, Waldorf schools and kindergartens now number approximately 3,000. They are found in 64 nations, forming the world’s largest network of independent schools. Instead of career administrators, Waldorf teachers—governed by their teacher councils—can individualize teaching and learning by nurturing the developing humanity of the child and their inner-life. Waldorf education thereby facilitates the development of children’s intellectual and creative capacities, also their independent-minded, emotionally mature resilience. In theory, classroom teachers stay with the same class from first grade through eighth grade. The Waldorf high school curriculum is broad, with specialist teachers. There is evidence that students from independent Waldorf schools compete well with other students at the university level. Given the variation among schools spread across 64 nations, with differing languages and local customs, schools have developed their own cultural identities.

The goal of this Research Topic is to serve as a window to cultivate a broader understanding of the “head, heart and hands” approach to learning used in Waldorf schools. We will welcome studies addressing varied aspects of these schools, including but not limited to:

- role of nurturing natural development of child as approach to teaching Waldorf curriculum
- studies that compare the Waldorf curriculum to that of other schools
- interviews on how Waldorf schools have influenced the lives and abilities of students
- cross-country comparisons of how Waldorf curriculum is taught in schools
- role of activities that build executive function and other skills in Waldorf schools
- study of how staying together from 1st to 8th grade influences teachers and students.

Important notice for spontaneous submissions: the Topic editors require authors to either send an abstract or contact them directly prior to submitting a manuscript for consideration.

Keywords: Waldorf Education, Steiner Schools, Head Heart and Hands, Executive Function, Looping, Arts Integration, Teacher Beliefs

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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