The “feeling-life” journey of the grade school child: An investigation into inclusive young citizenship in international Waldorf education

Abstract

Rudolf Steiner’s international Waldorf education is comparatively under-researched for a 100-year-old education movement which thrives globally. What is further unknown in academic educational circles is the specific study of the “feeling-life,” the middle period of childhood in Waldorf education, of children aged 7 through 14. This article assesses the holistic nature of the Waldorf grade school, and its child-centered, creative pedagogy. Using work by Lani Florian and colleagues, the article scrutinizes the extent to which Waldorf education is able and well-suited to accommodate all learner types. Fifteen Waldorf teaching advisors and teacher trainers from the U.S., the UK and Germany were invited to assess the inclusive outlook of their Waldorf grade school. The findings show internationally and inter-regionally diverse and contrasting practices; a route informed by inclusive pedagogy sustains child development and leads to young citizenship. Recommendations are of productive collaboration between schools’ networks and for Waldorf educational studies to forge connections with the wider educational academic sphere, and to share their application of creativity and restorative and inclusive practices.