Waldorf Schools and the History of Steiner Education An International View of 100 Years

This book marks the centenary of the first Waldorf School, established by Rudolf Steiner in Stuttgart in 1919. With around 1,150 Waldorf Schools and over 1,800 Waldorf Kindergartens established in over 60 countries, this book examines and analyses how the initial impulse of Steiner education has grown over the last century to become a worldwide alternative movement in education. The author documents and compares the growth and development of Waldorf schools and Steiner-inspired educational institutions around the world, and determines the extent to which the original underpinning philosophy has been maintained against the contexts and challenges of contemporary global trends in education. Within such diverse international contexts, it is significant that the schools retain such a distinctive identity, and clearly redefine how ‘alternative education’ can be viewed. This comprehensive volume will be of interest and value to scholars of Steiner education and Waldorf schools as well as alternative education more widely. 

Chapter 1. The World in 1919: The Context for the Founding of the First Waldorf School.- Chapter 2. Educational Theories, Principles and Applications.- Chapter 3. Steiner Education: The Curriculum, Pedagogy and Methodology.- Chapter 4. Steiner Education: The Growth of a Worldwide Movement.- Chapter 5. A Review of the Literature on Steiner Education and Waldorf Schools.- Chapter 6. What Makes Waldorf Education Different?.- Chapter 7. The A to Z of Waldorf Education—From Australia to Zanzibar- Chapter 8. The Landscape of Education in the Twenty-First Century.- Chapter 9. The World of Waldorf in 2019: Celebrating 100 Years and

Thomas Stehlik is an adjunct senior lecturer at the University of South Australia, Australia. He has published widely on Steiner Education and Waldorf Schools, and has over thirty years of experience with this global education movement as a parent, teacher educator, school board member, consultant and researcher.