Foreword
Research stands at the core of Steiner Waldorf education. It requires self-reflection on the one hand and a willingness to engage with the world and explore it on the other. Rudolf Steiner expected that the Waldorf schools would become pedagogical study centres in which the fruits of the research practised there would not only enhance the lessons within the school but also affect general educational practices outside the school and help improve them. Teachers were encouraged not only to share their insights, their successes and failures, between themselves but also with old scholars and others. This is manifestly not a solitary academic exercise but has a social and emotional dimension. Devotion to the vocation out of which inspiration, enthusiasm and teaching competency can grow, requires a continuous reassessment of content, methodology and one’s own personal attributes. This Masters programme, approved by the University of Plymouth, is envisaged as a support for such an undertaking.
From its inception it had a European character which meant looking beyond the historical educational norms of each of the cultures represented. It soon became apparent how different the expectations and inbuilt assumptions were and how easy it was to fall into misplaced judgments and national clichés. However the project team was working within a constructive collegial frame of mind and began to appreciate that all the various perspectives were actually building blocks for new concepts of cooperation within what is customarily accepted as tertiary education. From this a solidarity grew that we hope will be extended to all those who wish to undertake this challenge with us.
What becomes of this project will depend on what the students and tutors can bring to it, but our conviction is that this model can serve for school enhancement and also as a path of professional development that will stand all colleagues in good stead. On first glance it may seem radically different from what a Masters programme is traditionally accepted to be, but having worked on it from many angles and through our own thorough research we are confident it can meet the requirements for the standards usually expected at this level of study and at the same time relate to the spirit of Waldorf education. There is space for creativity, personal expression and development, differentiation of approach, fundamental questioning and rigorous enquiry as well as collegial support and interest. The university thereby places itself at the service of the school communities and this exciting prospect, although daunting at first, is being followed with interest by others outside the present Waldorf movement, who wish to see a reformation and renovation of the teaching profession throughout Europe and beyond.
This is an innovative step and, as with all such ventures, there will be risks and unforeseen opportunities and difficulties. Yet the potential to open up and consolidate research-based discussion and decision making in our communities, together with an enhanced sense of the privilege of being a Waldorf teacher is a step forward in bringing to our children what was originally envisaged and what lies at the core of our world-wide contemporary educational approach.
Christopher Clouder.
On behalf of the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education.
