The origins of Steiner Waldorf education?
When exploring Steiner’s Waldorf educational philosophy and pedagogy, it is useful to understand the name and its origins. Firstly, Steiner refers to the theorist and founder of this educational approach, Rudolf Steiner. Whereas, Waldorf refers to the location of the first school to embrace Steiner’s approach, which opened in 1919 for the children of employees at the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Company in Austria.
After the First World War, Europe was recovering economically, socially and politically. At this time, liberal and sometimes radical social reform took hold, and investment in civic infrastructure, such as schools, was considered essential. Emil Molt was one of these social reformers, investing in his employees and their families through the construction of a company school. It could be suggested, as Woods and Woods (2006) have, that the original school can be seen as one of the first and early forms of an academy-style school sponsored by a private business, but without a philosophy that views education as subservient to the market economy. This lack of focus on the employers’ and economy’s needs was not a mishap of Steiner’s first school but an intentional and thoroughly thought-out practice.
With poverty and social inequality rampant across Europe at the war’s conclusion, this radically different approach to education offers a curriculum that focuses on an individual’s body, mind and spirit through the provision of a rich and natural learning environment that promotes a connection to the body through nature, movement and rhythm, to the mind through conversation, collaboration and imagination and to the spirit through belief, belonging and harmony.
An overview of the Waldorf educational philosophy
The Waldorf approach is the largest movement globally to share a joint educational philosophy and approach. However, within each country and each of the 1200 settings, there is a deviation from the shared philosophy to accommodate and reflect its local culture, geographical needs and national requirements. Still, each Waldorf setting strives to realise the ideals of free education by placing the individual’s holistic development at the centre of their pedagogy. However, with this in mind, it is important to note that the Waldorf approach is decentralised, meaning no singular national or international organisation structures, monitors and dictates their practice, approach or current philosophy. It is instead a loosely and independently connected web of kindergartens, schools, and teacher training centres that subscribe to a shared view of education based on the works and ideas of Rudolf Steiner (Woods and Woods, 2006).
The view of supporting an individual’s body, mind and spirit is embedded within practice by exploring and supporting social, emotional, physical and creative development rather than academic knowledge, skills and work. This focus on social, emotional, physical and creative skills is also based on the thought that an individual will become more capable of developing and gaining academic skills after being exposed to an environment that offers them a rich variety of play opportunities and that these play opportunities will offer an individual the foundational knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for them to develop later academic knowledge, skills and work. This is partly because Steiner held a constructionist and experiential view of knowledge development.
Waldorf education and its underpinning philosophy are based on a cyclical approach to education, learning and development, supported by a focus on rhythm and repetition, which Steiner viewed as a supportive tool in the arsenal of children when they were developing and acquiring knowledge, understanding and skills. This focus on rhythm can be translated into a balanced need for equity between the inclusion of artistic, practical and intellectual work undertaken within an individual’s daily, termly and yearly journey.
As part of this cyclical approach, teaching is based on the understanding of development in three developmental groups, which an individual will pass through as they mature. The first is physical activity or, as Steiner describes it, ‘willing’, which dominates in the early years and lasts for the first seven years of life. This then leads to aesthetic and affective understanding or, as Steiner describes it, ‘feeling’, during the middle years for the following seven years, which then leads to the final group of rational and cognitive skills and understanding or, as Steiner refers to it, ‘thinking’, which lasts for the final seven years of an individual’s maturational development. Each stage of development links into and builds off of the previous, enabling a depth of knowledge, understanding and skills to form (Edmunds, 2013).
In Waldorf education, the curriculum or its ‘shared philosophy’, includes a range of different features such as the physical and natural environment, the relationships surrounding them, community events and festivals, visits and excursions, and what is directly taught.
As has been touched upon within the overview, a range of aspects of Steiner’s thinking can be considered when exploring the Waldorf approach. The following aspects, which are to be explored, are seen as fundamental to this philosophical approach. These are anthropology, curricular learning, natural learning and ecology, curriculum design, and assessment within the setting.
Anthroposophy and its Influence on the Approach
This aspect is being covered first as it is seen as the foundation or backbone of Steiner’s thoughts, beliefs and understanding of the world he lived in and his approach to development, learning and education. This aspect is also the marketable difference between Steiner’s and other philosophical and theoretical educational approaches because of its spiritual connections. Anthroposophy can be seen throughout the Waldorf approach. So, it is important to understand what it is and isn’t and how it has influenced, shaped and developed the Waldorf approach.
As has been discussed, a grounding proposition to Steiner education is that ‘each human being comprises body, soul and spirit’ (Rawson & Richter, 2000, p. 14), and its curriculum and pedagogy aims to provide a pathway to developing a conscious awareness of an individual’s humanity and place within the physical and spiritual world. However, having said this, as Woods and Woods (2006) state, unlike other catechesis or religiously based educational systems, Waldorf education does not aim to develop an adherent to Anthroposophy within those in a Waldorf setting. This is partly because Anthroposophy is not a religion, and this does not require ‘followers’ but mainly because its focus and aim is to awaken an individual’s spiritual awareness. As part of this awakening, there is an emphasis within the Waldorf approach of drawing upon a wide range of literary and historical traditions, from folklore to Norse and Greek gods, with the belief that this exposure will support the development of children’s fantasy, moral understanding and imaginative skills.
Anthroposophy is a connection to the divine rather than the godly. Still, some would argue that the divine is inherently religious, but this is countered by Waldorf settings educating individuals about a wide range of religious traditions without favouring any single tradition, even that of Anthroposophy itself. Furthermore, when exploring the origins of the terminology of Anthropology, it becomes clearer why it is not religious but spiritual. The term ‘anthroposophy’ itself predates Rudolf Steiner. The word ‘anthroposophy’ comes from the Greek anthropos which means ‘human’ and sophia referring to ‘wisdom’. It can be translated as ‘wisdom of the human being’.
The impact of anthroposophical thinking on Waldorf education comes back to the view that an individual is threefold: sprint, soul and body. Each aspect requires development, understanding and nourishment in its own way, and each must be developed in balance with the others for the holistic achievement of an individual. Enabling a pathway to enlightenment or fulfilment and connectedness with the natural, spiritual and social environments and one in which, as Steiner believes, children can achieve and fulfil their predetermined destiny.
Circular learning, circular development and a circular approach
As alluded to earlier within this exploration of Waldorf educational theory, philosophy and pedagogy, circular thinking, planning, living, and learning are key parts of the approach, emphasising rhythm and repetition. This rhythmical and predictable daily life is practised in order to support an individual’s feeling of safety and security in the immediate environment, daily life and learning journey.
A core aspect of this cyclical thinking can be structured around what Steiner thought to be the three developmental stages or, using his terminology, ‘epochs’. Each epoch spans seven years and is based on a different maturational developmental period. These are early childhood, middle childhood and late or secondary childhood.
Early Childhood
Early childhood is the first and often most well-known epoch within the Waldorf philosophy. This is mainly because it has become synonymous with the more than 1200 Waldorf/Steiner kindergartens worldwide and the focus of much writing, thinking and discussion around Rudolf Steiner’s work. However, what is less discussed is what is contained within this epoch, which covers the age range of zero to seven. The early childhood stage of development focuses on physical development. This focus on physical is more than just fine and gross motor skills, such as learning to sit, walk and use a bike. Like all the epochs, it encompasses more than just the obvious. It is holistic in its interpretation and categorisation of physical development and, as such, includes sensory exploration and interpretation, developing communication, collaboration and social knowledge, understanding and skill and the emergence of emotional regulation.
The focus within the early childhood stage of development has a greater connection with becoming a ‘physical being’ than just physical maturational development. This is shown through the thinking of Steiner, who describes this epoch as the willingness to be more, the willingness to become a person connected with the world around them or just ‘willing’.
Middle Childhood
Once an individual has developed the knowledge, skills, and understanding required from the early years epoch, they move into the middle childhood stage of development, which covers the age range of seven to fourteen. This epoch has a focus on the aesthetic and imaginative aspects of development.
Within this stage of development, an individual focuses on internal and external emotional, social and imaginative knowledge, skills and understanding. Just like with physical development, emotional development needs to be viewed more holistically as it can be more actually described as ‘feeling’. Feeling as one within their environment, with others, and within themself. Feeling, as viewed within Steiner’s philosophy, relates to an individual absorbing and understanding the beauty and purpose of aesthetics within the world, wider life and daily activities through the processing of rhythm and the repetition of cycles. Such as life cycles, weather cycles, seasonal changes, religious and cultural festivals, and even more simple changes such as times of the day, activities carried out at specific intervals and daily transitions.
Late or Secondary Childhood
The last epoch of childhood maturation between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one is that of Secondary childhood. Secondary childhood focuses on rational and cognitive skills and understanding, which Steiner describes as the ‘thinking’ stage of development. However, as with the ‘willing’ and ‘feeling’ epoch, ‘thinking’ is more than just the cognitive development of intellectual and logical knowledge, understanding and skills. It also encompasses spiritual understanding.
One of the reasons this stage of development is referred to as secondary childhood is because of the amount of active exploration that occurs, like in the early childhood stage of development. However, this time, it is not physical exploration but cognitive exploration. The exploration of ideas, thoughts, theories and beliefs and the application of rational evaluation to what they have observed and been taught during their journey through the previous two epochs.
Daily cycles and their importance
A more visual aspect of the circular approach taken within the Waldorf philosophy is through the learning opportunities provided. Subjects or topics are taught in blocks of active engagement, focusing on developing and acquiring new skills, which usually last for around four weeks. This proceeds with a block of time for unconscious engagement with the knowledge, understanding, and skills that the brain is processing, organising, and even forgetting what has been gained. The subject or topic is then re-covered and built upon for the following four weeks. This process of active remembering and planned forgetting is a unique feature of the Waldorf philosophies and further highlights the diversity of thought regarding the impact, influence and implementation of rhythm and repetition of circular learning.
This use of circular or repetition, within the Waldorf approach, is based on Steiner’s belief that it is a powerful tool both within the arsenal of teachers and individuals to aid and support their learning journey. However, for it to be as effective as possible, there needs to be a connection with experiential learning being sequenced and utilised as part of this process. Steiner emphasised this learning pattern as he believed it would nurture an individual’s potential to adapt to a range of situations, events and problems, think creatively and critically about the knowledge and understanding being gained and become resilient and self-aware.
Festival and events as a cycle tool for learning
Another of the more visual aspects of Waldorf’s philosophical use of circular and repetitive learning is the inclusion of festivals and events throughout the year. Each Waldorf setting is embedded in a cycle of celebration and reflection, which can be viewed through two perspectives: the outer circular transitions, focusing on the impact and influence of external chronological events that have been shaped and developed during a set period. Here, the inner circular transitions focus on the internal knowledge, understanding and skills developed during a period and how festivals and events have motivated, shaped and impacted them, providing a contextual understanding and focal point for an individual to assess their own learning journey. The outer circular transition of seasons throughout the year, such as Harvest festival to Halloween, Hanukkah to the Luna New Year to a Waldorf settings’ most cherished and awaited event, the end-of-year recital of children’s artistic and creative works, which acts as a showcase of songs, plays, and musical performances and provides an outer focal point to reflect upon the knowledge, understanding and skills developed throughout the year but contextualised to each festival. Festivals and events are not merely placed on convenient dates in the settings diary but are carefully selected as part of a cyclical and evolving process of celebrating development and re-creating learning opportunities.
Ecological approach
The learning environment of a Waldorf setting can be seen as being distinctive from other approaches to education due to the predominant use of soft materials and pastel colours with furniture, toys, and equipment made from natural materials and a strong emphasis on a biophilic connection or more simply a closeness to nature (Edmunds, 2013 and Rawson, 2021). This use of soft and natural colours and materials is part of Steiner’s belief in supporting an individual holistically, with ecology being seen as an impactful tool for aiding well-being and learning and, as such, can be argued as being a central pillar of the Waldorf approach.
The inclusion of Forest school-style learning areas and opportunities will also often be found within a Waldorf setting. Due to the connection and cross-over with the border Waldorf philosophy and Forest School’s emphasis on active learning, the view is that individuals are not passive receivers of information but must be active participants in the process as well as interaction, inclusion, and exploration of natural environments and resources, which enable the development of a deeper understanding of the world, their place within it, and the mastery of life skills. Incorporating natural-based experiences and learning methodologies within the Waldorf approach, as mentioned above, is also done to promote an individual’s well-being and environmental awareness and foster a deeper connection with the natural world in which they live (Arvanitis, Touloumakos and Barrable, 2022).
A Free Education
The Waldorf curriculum strives to realise the ideals of a free education similar to that of the Summerhill approach in that they place an individual’s development, wants and wishes at the centre of the pedagogy. The Waldorf curriculum can be viewed through the school of thought of Humanism based on its belief in considering the whole individual and practising a developmental approach that reflects this view. However, unlike Summerhill, when Waldorf education talks about individual or child-centred learning and the implementation of a developmental curriculum which reflects these practices, it doesn’t refer to the individual or child having complete control over their own learning journey. It is, in fact, referring to a process where adults act as facilitators and guides. Providing the best conditions, activities and environments for learning to occur.
The aim of a Waldorf setting, when it comes to learning, is around individuals mastering physical skills rather than abstract intellectual ones. This is particularly true within kindergartens or the first epoch of development because Waldorf education endeavours to equip individuals with the knowledge, skills and capacities needed to flourish in a complex and ever-changing world (Edmunds, 2013 and Rawson, 2021). This focus on the master of the physical within the understanding of the ever-changing world is complemented in practice through the contextualisation of learning activities, project themes and resources to reflect the local geographical, historical and cultural context of the community and country in which the setting is located. This thus enables the facilitator or teacher to adapt the content they wish to provide the individual in a meaningful and relevant format so that the individual is more open, willing and motivated to learn.
The process of contextualisation occurs through the practice of experientialisation or, more simply, providing children with hands-on activities that enable them to explore the content being provided to them. The ideas behind this approach to learning have been thought and written about by various theories, most notably by Burner, who coined the term ‘Discovery Learning’. Experiential or discovery learning has been incorporated into the Waldorf approach because it encourages children to engage actively with the content rather than passively receiving information. Within practice, this can be seen through role-play areas reflecting children’s lived experiences, daily life, and world. This allows them to explore and act out situations, scenarios, and preambles they may face within a safe and supportive environment.
Steiner viewed the impact of the experiential approach on an individual’s learning and development as numerous. It fostered a sense of curiosity and excitement about learning, as individuals are encouraged to explore and discover at their own pace and on their own pathway. Much like Bruner, he believed that it helps create a positive attitude towards learning that can last a lifetime. Alongside this, Steiner believed that experiential learning supports individuals in developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills because, through engaging in hands-on activities and experiments, they are forced to think creatively and come up with solutions to problems on their own. In this process, an individual learns to hypothesise, experiment, and test their ideas, through which they develop a strong foundation for future scientific or methodological learning. As part of this hands-on approach, Steiner emphasised the provision and use of open-ended play materials to promote children’s use of imagination, which is seen as a tool related to and supporting an individual’s ability to effectively and actually problem-solve.
One of the other core features for why Steiner believed in the need for experiential learning is that it allows individuals to learn at their own pace and in their own way. It promotes an approach of accommodation, adaptation, and differentiation of different learning styles, needs, and approaches. This can help to build confidence and self-esteem, which, as part of the humanistic view, are essential for success in learning and life. One of the ways that this can be seen to be implemented within a Waldorf setting is through their use of project-based learning (Woods and Woods, 2006). Whilst there are classes in some subject areas, the wider Waldorf curriculum is not rigidly structured around subjects like that of more traditional approaches to education, like the National Curriculum in England. A class will engage in project work, learning around a theme for several weeks, which can involve a cross-connection to subject areas such as history, science, geography, and maths.
This leads to one of the other structural aspects of the Waldorf approach, which is its focus on the cross-curricula interweaving of subjects taught throughout a certain period, as discussed earlier. This cross-curricula interweaving of subjects is more succinctly referred to as blocks. The process and practice of blocking is a cognitive strategy designed to enhance learning efficiency by reducing the cognitive load it requires of an individual through the organisation of information into manageable units or chunks, making it easier for them to process, remember and recall the information (Paas, F and Van Merriënboer, J, 2020 & Nottingham Education Network, 2023). This strategy is particularly effective because it leverages a human’s natural ability to identify patterns and rhythms.
As part of this practice of blocking and linking back to the circular approach, subjects are taught in blocks. This time, it is carried out through periods, also known as ‘Main Lessons’. Each Main Lesson lasts at least three to four weeks, allowing for more in-depth exploration of the subject matter and promoting continuity and concentration. This is similar to blocking curriculum content, where large amounts of information are broken down into smaller, manageable units. Larger bodies of content are broken down into smaller and more manageable sessions and activities.
Assessment within a Waldorf setting
Finally, this section will explore the humanistic approach to assessing an individual’s holistic development. Assessment within Waldorf education can be seen as almost an afterthought and something that has only somewhat recently been added to Steiner’s philosophy to meet the requirements and guidelines of the countries in which it operates. The reason for this, as has been discussed, is that the primary focus within a Waldorf setting is supporting an individual’s natural and holistic development to develop the skills needed to thrive in life both in the immediate and distant future (Rawson, 2020). As such, it will be unsurprising to understand that within the Waldorf philosophy, Summative assessments and tests that rank children’s performance against themselves and others, like the SATs in England, are not valued or seen as helpful in the learning process because of the lack of benefit provided to the individual. For Steiner and the wider Waldorf philosophy, Assessment for Learning or Formative assessments, in the form of conversations, observations and questioning, are viewed as more of a natural and beneficial approach to the assessment of an individual because of its emphasis on the journey rather than the destination of learning.
As mentioned, observational assessments are one of the main forms of assessment used within a Waldorf setting when they are required to carry out assessments. Observational assessments gather information about an individual’s learning and development by observing individuals in various environments, activities and situations. It involves carefully watching and documenting an individual’s behaviour, interactions with others, and responses to different activities. This information can then be used to assess their strengths and weaknesses, identify areas for improvement, and tailor instruction to their individual needs. Part of its connection to the Waldorf philosophy is that it is seen as an unintrusive assessment and does not involve an individual conforming to set standards, requirements or criteria when it is being conducted. As such, it enables adherence to the philosophy’s desire to support the adaption and individualisation of the education on offer while also allowing the setting to meet its legal requirements.
Reference
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Rawson, M. & Richter, T,. 2000. The Educational Tasks and Content of the Steiner Waldorf Curriculum. Forest Row, Sussex: Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship.
Rawson, M,. 2020. Assessment for learning and development in Waldorf education. Learning Community Partners. Available at: https://learningcommunitypartners.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/18.5.2020-Assessment-for-learning-and-development-in-Waldorf-education.pdf. [Access:13.02.2023].
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Nottingham Education Network 
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