A UK Department for Education and Skills report noted significant differences in curriculum and pedagogical approach between Waldorf/Steiner and mainstream schools and suggested that each type of school could learn from the other type's strengths: in particular, that state schools could benefit from Waldorf education's[1] early introduction and approach to modern foreign languages; combination of block (class) and subject teaching for younger children; development of speaking and listening through an emphasis on oral work; good pacing of lessons through an emphasis on rhythm; emphasis on child development guiding the curriculum and examinations; approach to art and creativity; attention given to teachers’ reflective activity and heightened awareness (in collective child study for example); and collegial structure of leadership and management, including collegial study. Aspects of mainstream practice which could inform good practice in Waldorf schools included: management skills and ways of improving organizational and administrative efficiency; classroom management; work with secondary-school age children; and assessment and record keeping.
A 2008 report by the Cambridge-based Primary Review found that Steiner/Waldorf schools achieved superior academic results to English state schools.[2]
Report of the Dutch Inspectorate of Education
The Dutch Inspectorate of Education reported that a significantly higher percentage of Waldorf elementary schools than state elementary schools visited were judged weak or very weak in the following areas: providing differentiated instruction and lesson plans, the curriculum meeting primary goals in mathematics and language arts, and pupil assessment.[3]
Australian studies
A major quantitative and qualitative study of senior secondary students in the three largest Steiner schools in Australia was undertaken by Jennifer Gidley in the mid-nineties.[4][5] It investigated the Steiner-educated students’ views and visions of the future, replicating a major study with a large cross-section of mainstream and other private school students undertaken a few years prior.[6] The findings as summarised below contrasted markedly in some areas with the research from mainstream students at the time.[7]
Steiner-educated students were able to develop richer, more detailed images of their 'preferred futures' than mainstream students.
About three-quarters were able to envision positive changes in both the environment and human development; almost two-thirds were able to imagine positive changes in the socio-economic area;
They tended to focus on ‘social’ rather than ‘technological’ ways of solving problems;
In envisioning futures without war, their visions primarily related to improvements in human relationships and communication through dialogue and conflict resolution rather than a 'passive peace' image;
75% had many ideas on what aspects of human development (including their own) needed to be changed to enable the fulfilment of their aspirations. These included more activism, value changes, spirituality, future care and better education;
In spite of identifying many of the same concerns as other students – global-scale environmental destruction, social injustice and threats of war – most of the Steiner students seemed undaunted in terms of their own will to do something to create their 'preferred future';
There were no gender differences found in the students’ preferred futures visions or in the richness and fluidity of their creative images.
An Australian study comparing the academic performance of students at university level found that students who had been at Waldorf schools significantly outperformed their peers from non-Waldorf schools in both the humanities and the sciences.[8]
In 2008, the Rudolf Steiner Schools Association of Australia funded a research project to investigate the relationships between Steiner pedagogy and related 21st century academic discourses. The report on the project is called "Turning Tides: Creating Dialogue between Rudolf Steiner and 21st Century Academic Discourses".[9] A bibliography[10] of all the studies that were identified is also available online as is the extended project data.[11]
Creativity and artistry
A study comparing the drawing ability of children in Steiner/Waldorf, Montessori and traditional schools concluded that "the approach to art education in Steiner schools is conducive not only to more highly rated imaginative drawings in terms of general drawing ability and use of color but also to more accurate and detailed observational drawings,"[12] while another study found that Waldorf pupils average higher scores on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Ability than state-school students.[13]
Comparative study of moral development
An American study found that Waldorf-educated students scored significantly higher on a test of moral reasoning than students in public high schools and students in a religiously-affiliated high school. Waldorf students were also far more likely to volunteer opinions about the survey and research in general, suggesting possible improvements in the survey technique and offering new possibilities to resolve the moral dilemmas raised in the survey.[14]
U.S. Waldorf schools survey
A 1995 survey of U.S. Waldorf schools found that parents overall experienced the Waldorf schools as achieving their major aims for students, and described the education as one that "integrates the aesthetic, spiritual and interpersonal development of the child with rigorous intellectual development", preserving students' enthusiasm for learning so that they develop a better sense of self-confidence and self-direction. Some parents described upper grades teachers as overextended, without sufficient time to relate to parental needs and input, and wished for more open and reciprocal parent-school support. Both parents and students sometimes described colleges of teachers as being insular and unresponsive.
Rudolf Steiner School, New York City
The students overall were positive about the school and its differences; experienced the school as a "community of friends"; and spoke of the opportunity to grow and develop through the broad range of activities offered, to learn when they were ready to learn, to develop imagination, and to come to understand the world as well as oneself. Many students spoke of the kindness of their peers and of learning to think things through clearly for themselves, not to jump to conclusions, and to remain positive in the face of problems and independent of pressure from others to think as they do. Improvements the students suggested included more after-school sports programs, more physical education classes, more preparation for standardized testing, a class in world politics and computer classes. Faculty, parents and students were united in expressing a desire to improve the diversity of the student body, especially by increasing representation of minority groups such as African-Americans and Hispanic Americans.[15]
Waldorf approach for at-risk students
The T. E. Mathews Community School in Yuba County, California serves high-risk juvenile offenders, many of whom have learning disabilities. The school switched to Waldorf methods in the 1990s. A 1999 study of the school found that students had "improved attitudes toward learning, better social interaction and excellent academic progress."[16][17] This study identified the integration of the arts "into every curriculum unit and almost every classroom activity" of the school as the most effective tool to help students overcome patterns of failure. The study also found significant improvements in reading and math scores, student participation, focus, openness and enthusiasm, as well as emotional stability, civility of interaction and tenacity.[17]
Standardized testing
USA and Germany
Despite their sometimes controversial lessened exposure to standardized testing (such tests are generally absent in the elementary school years), U.S. Waldorf pupils' SAT scores have usually come above the national average, especially on verbal measures.[18] Studies comparing students' performance on college-entrance examinations in Germany found that as a group, Waldorf graduates passed the exam at double to triple the rate of students graduating from the state education system,[18][19] and that students who had attended Waldorf schools for their entire education passed at a much higher rate (40% vs. 26%) than those who only had part of their education at a Waldorf school.[20] Educational successes of private Waldorf schools may partially reflect the social status of their students.[19]
^Gidley, J. (1998). "Prospective Youth Visions through Imaginative Education." Futures: The journal of policy, planning and futures studies 30(5): 395–408.
^Gidley, J. (2002). Holistic Education and Visions of Rehumanized Futures. Youth Futures: Comparative Research and Transformative Visions. J. Gidley and S. Inayatullah. Westport, Connecticut, Praeger: 155-168.
^Hutchinson, F. (1992). Futures consciousness and the school: Explorations of broad and narrow literacies for the twenty-first century with particular reference to Australian young people. Armidale NSW, University of New England: 410.
^Gidley, J. and G. Hampson (2005). "The Evolution of Futures in School Education." Futures: The journal of policy, planning and futures studies 37: 255–271.
^Including abstracts for many of the Steiner-related PhD and Masters dissertations and some academic articles. The project data has not been updated since 2008 and some of the 'in progress' theses are now complete.
^“Beyond Homogenisation of Global Education: Do Alternative Pedagogies such as Steiner Education have anything to offer an Emergent Global/ising World?” in S. Inayatullah, M. Bussey and I. Milojevic (eds) Alternative Educational Futures: Pedagogies for an Emergent World, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam
