The Landscape of Education in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

This chapter fast forwards 100 years to an investigation of the very different environments and contexts in which education and schooling now exist and unpacks what the notion of alternative education means in the Twenty-First Century, in comparison with the milieu that led to the founding of the first Waldorf School in 1919. The chapter provides examples of current alternatives to traditional schooling and explores reasons why parents are making different choices about schooling for their children as well as interrogating what the term alternative implies. The chapter also explores the way in which contemporary alternative movements in education, as well as developments in mainstream education, are aligning with some of the aspects of Steiner Education, suggesting that for the last 100 years Waldorf Schools have been quietly adopting pedagogical approaches that now in the Twenty-First Century are proving to be more widely recognised and accepted.