Skip to main content

Waldorf Education and Postmodern Spirituality

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Education – Spirituality – Creativity

Abstract

This article explores meanings of spirituality in education within the current discourse and in particular postmodern spirituality and postformal education. It discusses understandings of spirituality in Waldorf education and outlines how Waldorf teachers work with spirituality in their pedagogy. Finally, there is a review of studies published in English on aspects of spirituality in Waldorf schools.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    This is the Key of the Kingdom; of the Kingdom this is the key. In that kingdom is a city. In that city is a town. In that town there is a high street. In that street there winds a lane. In that lane there is a yard. In that yard there is a house. In that house there waits a room. In that room an empty bed. On that bed there is a basket, A basket of sweet flowers, of flowers of flowers, a basket of sweet flowers. Flowers in the basket. Basket on the bed. Bed in the chamber. Chamber in the house. House in weedy yard. Yard in the winding lane. Lane in the broad street, Street in the high town. Town in the city. City in the Kingdom. This is the Key of the Kingdom. Of the Kingdom this is the key.

References

  • Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unravelling the Mystery: How people manage stress and stay well. San Franscisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avison, K., & Rawson, M. (2014). The Tasks and Content of the Steiner-Waldorf Curriculum (2nd Edition ed.). Edinburgh: Floris Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barfield, O. (1988). Saving the Apearances. A study in idolatry (2nd edition ed.). Middletown, Connecticut: Weslyan University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barfield, O. (2010). Introduction. In O. Barfield (Ed.), The Case for Anthroposophy. Being extracts from Riddles of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner (pp. 1–18). Oxford: Barfield Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellous, J. E. (2019). An inclusive spiritual education. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(4), 389-400. doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2019.1675603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benedikter, R. (2006, May 2006) Postmodern spirituality: A dialogue in five parts. Integral World.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, J. B. (2003). Academic life: hospitality, ethics and spirituality. Boston, MA.: Anker.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biesta, G. J. J. (2013). The beautiful risk of education. Boulder, CO.: Paradigm Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Büssing, A., Föller-Mancini, A., Gidley, J. M., & Heusser, P. (2010). Aspects of spirituality in adolescents. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 15(1), 25-44. doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13644360903565524

  • Campbell, L. H. (2003). The spiritual lives of artists/teachers Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassirer, E. (1944/1962). An Essay on Man. New Haven/London: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comerford, P. (2015). A humanistic approach to spirituality (Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy). Inside Out, 77(Autumn 2015).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahlin, B. (2009). On the path towards thinking: Learning from Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Steiner. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 28(6), 537-554. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-009- 9147-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlin, B. (2013). Gloves of Ice or Free Hands? A nomadic reading of Rudolf Steiner and Bergson and Deleuze and others on knowledge as nonrepresentational and the importance of Aesthesis. Other Education: The Journal of Educational Alternatives, 2(2), 67-89.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Souza, M. (2009). Spirituality and well-being. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 14(3), 181-184. https://doi.org/10.1080/13644360903086430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easton, F. (1997). Educating the whole child, ‘head, heart and hands’: learning from the Waldorf experience. Theory into Practice, 36(12), 87–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elkins, D. N. (2005). A humanistic approach to spiritually orientated psychotherapy. In L. Sperry & E. P. Shafranske (Eds.), Spiritually Orientated Psychotherapy (pp. 131–151): American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkins, D. N. (2015). Beyond Religion: Towards a humanistic spirituality. In K. J. Schneider, J. F. Pierson, & J. F. T. Bugenthal (Eds.), The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology (2nd. edition ed., pp. 681-692). Thousand Oaks, Ca: SAGE.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. ((1946) 2006). Man’s Search for Meaning. An introduction to logotherapy. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fried, J. (2001). Civility and spirituality. In V. M. Miller & M. M. Ryan (Eds.), Transforming campus life: reflections on spirituality and religious pluralism (pp. 261-280). New York: Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, R. C. (2001). Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gebser, J. (1991). The Ever-Present Origin (N. K. Barstadt & A. Mickunas, Trans. 2nd ed.). Athens: Ohio: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gergen, K. (2011). The Social Construction of Self. In S. Gallagher (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Self (pp. 633-654). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gergen, K., & Gergen, M. (2008). Social construction and research as action. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice (pp. 159-171). Los Angeles, London: SAGE Publications.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gidley, J. M. (1998). Prospective youth visions through imaginative education. Futures, 30, 395-408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gidley, J. M. (2011). Steiner, Rudolf (1861–1925) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning (pp. 3188–3191). New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gidley, J. M. (2016). Postformal Education. A philosophy for complex futures. Basel: Springer International.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Goldschmidt, G. (2017). Waldorf education as spiritual education. Spiritual Education, Religion and Education, 44(3), 346-363. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2017.1294400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Göschel, J. C. (2012). Der biographische Mythos als pädagogisches Leitbild: Transdisziplinäre Förderplanung auf Grundlage der Kinderkonferenz in der anthroposophischen Heilpädagogik (Biographical myth as pedagogical leading thought: Transdisciplinary learning support on the basis of the child study process in anthroposophical curative eduction). Dornach: Verlag am Goetheanum Athena.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hay, D., & Nye, R. (2006). The Spirit of the Child (revised edition ed.). London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, M. E. (1992). School rituals as educational contexts: symbolizing the world, others, and self in Waldorf and college prep schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 5(4), 295-309. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839920050402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, G. R. (2012). Rudolf Steiner’s epistemology and its relation to feminist thought in America. In R. McDermott (Ed.), American Philosophy and Rudolf Steiner: Emerson, Thoreau, Peirce, James, Royce, Dewey, Whitehead, Feminism (pp. 227-250). Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huss, B. (2014). Spirituality: The emergence of a new cultural category and its challenge to the religious and the secular. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 29(1), 47-60. doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2014.864803

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, B. (2008). Weaving threads of meaning: A characteristic of children’s spirituality and its implications for religious education. British Journal of Religious Education, 30(3), 235-245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. New York: Basic Books.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kiersch, J. (1978). Freie Lehrerbildung. Zum Entwurf Rudolf Steiners (Vol. 11). Stuttgart: Freies Geistesleben.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korcynski, B. (2016). A spirituality of Catholoc education- seeing differently. Education Letter., Spring/Summer 2016, 23-26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindenberg, C. (2013). Rudolf Steiner a biography. Great Barrington, MA: Steiner Books Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loebell, P. (2012). Identität, Individualität udn Selbstgestaltung. In M. Basfeld & W. Hutter (Eds.), Identitätsbildung im pädagogischen Prozess (pp. 21-40). Baltmannsweiler: Schneider.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loebell, P. (2012). Spiritualität und (Waldorf-)Schulpädagogik. In P. Loebell & P. Buck (Eds.), Spiritualität in Lebensbereichen der Pädagogik. Diskussionsbeiträge zur Bedeuting spiritueller Erfahrungen in den Lebenswelten von Kindern und Jugendlichen (pp. 21–42). Opladen, Berlin, Toronto: Budrich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorimer, D. (2018). Science and religion/spirituality: new findings Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/20440243.2018.1431366

  • M., M. (2003). Can scientific writing be creative? Journal of Science Education and Technology, 12(2), 115-128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A. H. (1998). Towards a Psychology of Being. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDermott, R. (2012). American Philosophy and Rudolf Steiner. Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, L. (2015). The Spiritual Child. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer-Drawe, K. (2012) Diskurse des Lernens. München: Fink.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, T. W. (2004). Rudolf Steiner’s Pedagogy of Imagination. A case study of holistic education. Bern: Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, T. W. (2006). Towards a pedagogy of imagination: a phenomenological case study of holistic education. Ethnography and Education, 2(2), 247-264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordlund, C. Y. (2006). Art experiences in Waldorf education: graduates’ meaning making reflections. (PhD), University of Missouri-Columbia. Retrieved from https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/handle/10355/4457.

  • Oberski, I. (2006). Learning to think in Steiner Waldorf schools. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 5, 336-349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oberski, I. (2011). Rudolf Steiner’s Philosophy of Freedom as a basis for spiritual education. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 16(1), 5-17. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2010.540751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okumoto, Y. (2019). Enlivening thinking and speech in search of spiritual identity: the role of ‘speech formation’ in Steiner’s Waldorf education. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(1), 83-96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, R. J. (2003). The heart of a teacher: identity and integrity. In A. Lieberman (Ed.), Jossey-Bass Reader on Teaching (pp. 3-25). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, J. (2019). From anthroposophy to non-confessional preparationfor spirituality? Could common schools learn from spiritual education in Steiner schools? British Journal of Religious Education, 41(3), 299-314. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2017.1361382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raftopolous, M., & Bates, G. (2017). It’s knowing that you are not alone: The role of spirituality in adolescent resilience. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 16(2), 151-167. doi: http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2011.580729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawson, M. (2017). The seven steps of learning in Waldorf contexts. Retrieved on 02 MArch 2020 from www.learningcommunitypartners.eu.

  • Rawson, M. (2018a). The case for illuminative practitioner research in Steiner Education. Research on Steiner Education, 8(2), 15-32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawson, M. (2018b). Learning as becoming a subject. A hermeneutic phenomenological study of students in a Waldorf(Steiner) school in Germany. (Education Doctorate EdD), Plymouth University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10756 (2018Rawson389263EdD).

  • Rawson, M. (2019a). A complementary theory of learning in Waldorf pedagogical practice. Research on Steiner Educaion, 9(2), 1-23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawson, M. (2019b). The development of the person: Possible links to non-formal learning situations, scaffolded reflection and expansive learning in Steiner/Waldorf education. Other Education, 8(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawson, M. (2020). Waldorf Education Today: a critical introduction. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, C. R. (1980). A Way of Being. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosa, H. (2019). Resonance. A sociology of our relationship to the world (J. C. Wagner, Trans.). Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schreiber, D. A. (2012). On the epistemology of postmodern spirituality. Verbum et Ecclesia, 33(1), 1-8. doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v33i1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shank, M. (2016). Imagination, Waldorf, and critical literacies: Possibilities for transformative education in mainstream schools. Reading and Writing, 7(2), 1-9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v7i2.99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R. (1963a). The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity (R. Stebbing, Trans. H. S. Bergman Ed.). West Nyack, NY: Rudolf Steiner Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R. (1963b). Truth and Science (R. Stibbing, Trans. P. M. Allen Ed.). West Nyack, NY: Rudolf Steiner Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R. (1968(1886)). A Theory of Knowledge Implicit in Goethe’s World Conception. Spring Valley, NY.: Anthroposophic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R. (1995). The Genius of Language (R. Pusch, Trans.). Hudson, NY.: Anthroposophic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R. (1996). The Foundations of Human Experience. Hudson, NY.: Anthroposophic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R. (2002). An Outline of Esoteric Science (C. E. Creeger, Trans.). Hudson, NY: Anthroposophic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R. (2011). Theosophy: An introduction to the supersensible knowledge of teh world and the destination of man (M. Cotterell & A. P. Shepherd Trans. revised 150th anniversary edition ed.). Forest Row: Rudolf Steiner Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, R., & Barfield, O. (2010). The Case for Anthroposophy (O. Barfield, Trans.). Oxford: Barfield Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stockinger, H. (2019). Developing spirituality- an equal right of every child? Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(3), 307-319. doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2019.1646218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanyi, R. A. (2002). Nursinf theory and concept development or analysis. Towards a clarification of the meaning of spirituality. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 39, 500-509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tröhler, D. (2016). The grand naratives of modernity and teh modern self: The Protestant idea of teh soul and the educationalization of the world. Education Letter., Spring/Summer 2016, 27-29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhrmacher, P. B. (1995). Uncommon Schooling: A historical look at Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy and Waldorf education. Curriculum Inquiry, 25(4), 381-406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urrieta, L. (2007). Figured worlds and education: An introduction to the special issue. The Urban Review, 39(2), 107-116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Alphen, P. (2011). Imagination as a transformative tool in primary school education. Research on Steiner Educaion, 2(2), 16-34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walach, H. (2017). Secular spirituality - what it is. Why we need it. How to proceed. Journal for the Study of Spirituality(1), 7–20. doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/20440243.2017.1290028

  • Watson, J., de Souza, M., & Trousdale, A. (Eds.). (2014). Global Perspective on Spirituality and Education. New York London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiechert, C. (2012). The Art of Observing Children. In D. Mitchell (Ed.), Observing the class. Observing the children (pp. 13–16). Chatham, NY: AWSNA Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilber, K. (2000). Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy. Boston: Shambala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilber, K. (2001). The Eye of Spirit: An integral vision for a world gone slightly mad (3rd edition ed.). Boston: Schambala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woods, G. J., O’Neill, M., & Woods, P. A. (1997). Spiritual Values in Education: Lessons from Steiner? International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 2(2), 25-40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woods, G. J., & Woods, P. A. (2008). Democracy and spiritual awareness: interconnections and implications for educational leadership. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 13(2), 101-116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woods, P. A., Ashley, M., & Woods, G. J. (2005). Steiner Schools in England. (Research Report No. 645). London: University of West of England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, A. (2000). Spirituality and Education. London and New York: Routledge Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zech, M. M. (2018). Bildung und Waldorfpädagogik. In S. Sigler, W. Sommer, & M. M. Zech (Eds.), Handbuch. Oberstufenunterricht an Waldorfschulen (Handbook of Upper School Teaching in Waldorf Schools) (pp. 12–55). Weinheim, Basel: Beltz Juventa.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martyn Rawson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Rawson, M. (2021). Waldorf Education and Postmodern Spirituality. In: Stoltz, T., Wiehl, A. (eds) Education – Spirituality – Creativity. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-32968-6_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-32968-6_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-32967-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-32968-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics