Organization of learning environment in Waldorf schools. Pedagogical inspirations for early school education

The educational ideology presented by Rudolf Steiner has both ardent supporters and opponents. But without a doubt it can be an inspiration to change the way of thinking about the way the learning environment is organized. Despite the lapse of many years since its inception, Steiner’s pedagogy has not lost its appeal and can provide a valuable source for the construction of modern holistic constructivist education, according to which the student is not only active but also becomes a partner of the teacher in the process of developing their knowledge, skills and socio-emotional resources. The article presents the assumptions of Steiner’s education in the perspective of the two most important areas of organization of the learning environment: the role of the teacher and the methodology of work. Through analysis of the texts, the method of organization of the educational process will be presented, which can be used in elementary schools in grades 1-3.

Vaccination in Europe: Attitude of the Anthroposophical Society

The article is devoted to a relevant topic – the progress and readiness of the European society for vaccination against coronavirus and the public discussion that unfolded in European countries regarding the pace of the vaccine campaign, the safety of vaccines certified by the European Medicines Agency. The author analyzed the activities of one of the well-known religious and philosophical groups – the Anthroposophical Society in Germany, which has its own arguments, grounded in a religious and philosophical position, against any vaccination, and especially against insufficiently tested vaccines against COVID-19. The Anthroposophical Society is an influential world outlook organization and at the same time a corporation whose members implement their religious and philosophical views in the field of education, organic farming, the production of good quality cosmetics and medicines that are in demand among the population of European countries. Anthroposophic physicians in the context of a pandemic have launched work on the prevention of coronavirus infection, as well as on the rehabilitation of people who have undergone it. They insist on the inadmissibility of isolation measures for students of Waldorf schools, protest against the massive vaccination campaign. Their vigorous protests find support from skeptics who distrust government vaccination policies. As a result, anthroposophists reckon with the strength of the regional authorities and listen to the federal ones, since it demonstrates a certain vector of public opinion and sentiment associated with the vaccine campaign, which is necessary for a return to normal life.

Politieke pedagogiek

Political pedagogy: In search for predictors of susceptibility to antidemocratic orientations The traditional movement toward educational reform at the beginning of the last century emphasized the individual child and his or her experiential world. The current paper addresses the question why reform schools such as Rudolf Steiner’s Waldorf schools could easily be incorporated in the National-Socialist political movement in the thirties of the last century. After the Second World War the crucial issue for pedagogues and educators was how children could be guided to become less susceptible to the ideological temptations of Nazism and of totalitarianism in general. The initiators of the Frankfurter Schule (Horkheimer, Adorno) focussed on psychoanalytic determinants of vulnerability for this totalitarian seduction and introduced the concept of ‘the authoritarian personality’. Instead of psychoanalysis we use here Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s theory and research on moral development to address this same question of susceptibility to anti-democratic racist, sexist, militarist and nationalist movements, following pathfinding work of the second generation Frankfurters Habermas and Lempert. Social-psychological experiments and cultural anthropological studies are consulted to examine what role social-cultural context plays. In most social settings people can be easily nudged into conformism and thus triggered into uncritical acceptance of authoritarian leadership. Individuals with some resilience against such pressures might be characterised with a high level of moral reasoning. Some studies linking moral argumentation to political orientation suggest ways in which a ‘political pedagogy’ might contribute to harnessing such findings for anti-fascist educational applications.

An Ethnomathematical Perspective on the Question of the Idea of Multiplication and Learning to Multiply: The Languages and Looks Involved

This chapter invites appreciation of the development of an ethnomathematical perspective on the question of the idea of multiplication. The teaching approach described here is grounded on miniprojects that integrate diverse areas of knowledge. It reveals a style of work being performed in the Waldorf Schools of São Paulo, Brazil, where the concept of multiplication is constructed together with the geometry of plane figures through the elaboration of mathematical thinking together with figures mounted on a circular wooden table. The sequence highlights ideas of context connected to the use of cellular phones by the students to introduce the concept of proportionality by taking photos of their bodies and faces, and then using them to study Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.

Exploring Multiple Intelligence Theory Prospects as a Vehicle for Discovering the Relationship of Neuroeducation with Imaginative/Waldorf Pedagogy: A Systematic Literature Review

Waldorf Education follows a holistic approach of children’s development, where the fundamental characteristics are creative/artistic activities, integrating imagination-based teaching methods to support and enhance the development of children’s and adolescents’ physical, social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Neuroeducation provides the most relevant level of analysis for resolving today’s core problems in education. Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory investigates ways of using the theory as a framework in school for improving work quality, collaborations, opportunities for choice, and a role for the arts. To that end, we provide a systematic literature review that critiques and synthesizes representative literature on these three topics in order to reveal new perspectives towards a novel transformative educational paradigm in a digitized society. A comprehensive analysis of theoretical and empirical articles between 2000 and 2019 is provided. The search included five main academic databases (ERIC, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Scopus) using predefined selection criteria. In total, 321 different articles were screened, from which 43 articles met the predefined inclusion criteria. The results indicate a correlation between pedagogical practices of Waldorf schools and MI theory compatible teaching practices and between Waldorf schools and neuroeducation. Further empirical research examining different facets of this relationship is still needed to establish live and effective schools as Learning Organizations.

Salad, Lard, and Everything Between

Foodways are an excellent site for tracking the interaction between Anthroposophy, the spiritual science founded by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), and other emerging spiritual traditions. Participants in practical initiatives inspired by Anthroposophy—including Waldorf schools, biodynamic farms, and Camphill intentional communities—follow various eating practices. Some choose vegetarian diets featuring whole grains and abundant vegetables, like their counterparts in the Gaian wing of the New Age movement. Others prefer the “Nourishing Traditions” approach of Sally Fallon, which rejects processed foods and celebrates traditional cuisines that use large amounts of animal fat. This diversity of foodways, paradoxically, confirms Wouter Hanegraaff’s characterization of Anthroposophy as too “clearly demarcated” to be considered a full part of the New Age movement. What demarcates the Anthroposophical approach to food is not any specific dietary choice but the persistent reminder that individual freedom is the most important requirement in a spiritual approach to food.