Developmental Signatures - Waldorf Research Institute
Developmental Signatures - Waldorf Research Institute
Developmental Signatures - Waldorf Research Institute
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exploration of nature, and surroundings where adults are engaged in meaningful<br />
work processes. These elements provide a foundation for elementary school learning<br />
in such areas as mathematical-scientific thinking, literacy and linguistic capacity,<br />
artistic ability, and media competency. In addition, and perhaps ultimately more<br />
significant, is the development of qualities such as authenticity, independence,<br />
ethical values, social awareness, resilience, and health; these are the larger goals and<br />
“desired outcomes” of <strong>Waldorf</strong> education and form the basis for a fullfilling life.<br />
The working group also explored the conditions required for successful<br />
schooling: what is needed for a healthy educational experience to take place. The<br />
group identified and described the following elements:<br />
• The self-education of the teachers, engagement in a process of lifelong<br />
professional development<br />
• Close collaboration between teachers and parents<br />
• Cooperation between the kindergarten and the elementary school<br />
• Collaboration between teachers, doctors, therapists and specialists<br />
• Colleagues engaged in research into the nature of their educational<br />
work and the learning of children<br />
• Collegial self-administration with an entrepreneurial attitude, working<br />
together with other <strong>Waldorf</strong> schools<br />
• Integration into the wider social and cultural community<br />
• Attention to architecture and the shaping of the educational<br />
environment itself<br />
The results of this working group’s study in Germany are a great resource<br />
for reflection for deepening and renewing <strong>Waldorf</strong> and non-<strong>Waldorf</strong> educational<br />
practices both within the European community and throughout the world. As we<br />
strive to adapt in insightful and meaning-filled ways to meet the changing cultural<br />
climate in which our <strong>Waldorf</strong> schools and kindergartens find themselves, and to<br />
articulate both to ourselves and to others what it is that we stand for, this study by<br />
our colleagues in Europe can serve as a helpful stimulus and support.<br />
This has been an enormous collaborative endeavor. In this spirit, this<br />
English language translation is a joint project of the <strong>Waldorf</strong> Early Childhood
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