The Waldorf approach
Rudolf Steiner’s insight into child development enabled him to indicate ways in which Waldorf Schools could engage creatively with the burning issue of education today.
Waldorf education is a schooling system that chooses, as its prime focus, to prepare each student for life. We believe a student’s development must be carefully and lovingly guided to encourage the emergence of socially balanced and productive adults. Our focus is on supporting each learner to develop profound curiosity, inner strength, intellectual flexibility, empathy and independent judgement in order to build their resilience and capacity to engage meaningfully in a changing world.
The first Waldorf School was founded in Germany by the Austrian educationist Rudolf Steiner. Waldorf Education is a holistic response to the question “How can education best serve the growth of the individual and of society?”
Waldorf education is based on three key elements:
- understanding the stages in the development of the child as a moral being;
- understanding what the child needs, and what they will respond to at each stage in their path to adulthood;
- developing a curriculum and teaching methodology that supports and guides the growing child.
Waldorf Education aims at providing a warm, rich and challenging education in which the needs of the whole child are met throughout school life. It aims at a preparation for life supporting the child to develop a life-long love of learning. Subjects are taught through Main Lesson blocks or thematically focused study. Every aspect of the education aims to work with the head, heart and hands of the child. Mathematics, for example, needs to engender feelings of wonder and curiosity while integrated practical activities deepen the experience and knowledge.
The Waldorf Curriculum Tree
Rudolf Steiner’s Gift to Contemporary Education: Meeting the Developing Child
Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, left an extraordinary legacy in the realm of education. His insights into human development, drawn from his broader philosophy of Anthroposophy, continue to shape an educational movement that meets the needs of children at every stage of their growth. Steiner’s approach is not merely about imparting knowledge; it is about cultivating the whole human being—mind, body, and spirit.
The Foundation of Waldorf Education
Steiner’s philosophy is rooted in an understanding of the human being as a developing entity. He stated:
“Our highest endeavour must be to develop free human beings, who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives.”
This principle underpins Waldorf education, which seeks to nurture children into independent, creative, and morally responsible individuals. Steiner did not believe education should be about filling children with facts but about awakening in them a living relationship to knowledge, one that is both deeply personal and socially responsible.
The Stages of Child Development
Steiner’s educational approach is based on the idea that childhood unfolds in distinct seven-year phases, each requiring a specific form of nourishment. He described these stages as follows:
0-7 Years: The Will and Learning Through Imitation
Steiner observed that young children are primarily beings of imitation and movement:
“The small child before the change of teeth is wholly sense-organ. He takes in everything that goes on around him, and because he is a sense-organ, he transforms everything he experiences.”
This is why early childhood education in Waldorf schools is rich in rhythm, play, and storytelling. Steiner emphasized that young children should not be exposed to premature intellectualism but should experience the world through movement, sensory exploration, and the warmth of human relationships.
7-14 Years: The Feeling and Learning Through Imagination
At this stage, Steiner emphasized the importance of imagination and beauty in learning:
“Between the change of teeth and puberty, children live in pictures. What we inculcate must be full of imagination.”
During these years, the arts become central to education, as they help integrate learning into the child’s emotional life. Children are guided through Main Lessons (thematically based in-depth explorations on a subject) and experiential learning to bring academic subjects to life, making learning a deeply engaging and personal process.
14-21 Years: The Thinking and Learning Through Discernment
When adolescence begins, young people develop the capacity for independent thought. Steiner described this phase as the time when:
“The young person seeks truth and reality. He wants to know why things are so, not just that they are so.”
This is the time for rigorous intellectual engagement, Socratic discussion, and the exploration of ethics, philosophy, and complex scientific reasoning. The goal of education at this stage is not to tell students what to think but to guide them in learning how to think—critically, independently, and with moral clarity.
Art as a Pathway to Learning
Steiner’s emphasis on the integration of art, music, and movement in education stems from his belief that these activities awaken human faculties beyond mere intellectualism. He said:
“The heart of the Waldorf method is that education is an art—it must speak to the child’s experience. To educate the whole child, his heart and his will must be reached, as well as the mind.”
This is why in a Waldorf school, mathematics is taught through rhythm and movement, history is brought to life through drama, and science is explored through hands-on experimentation. Education is not an abstraction—it is lived experience.
The Teacher’s Role: Education as a Moral Task
Steiner viewed teaching as a sacred calling, in which the educator does not simply impart knowledge but nurtures the unfolding spirit of each child. He wrote:
“Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is? The children themselves are this book.”
A Waldorf teacher’s role is to observe, listen, and respond to the individual needs of each child, rather than following rigid, standardized curricula. The relationship between teacher and student is long-term and deeply meaningful, creating an environment of trust and security in which learning can flourish.
The Gift of Freedom and Responsibility
Perhaps Steiner’s greatest contribution to contemporary education is his insistence that learning should cultivate freedom of thought and moral responsibility. He did not advocate for dogma—whether religious, political, or scientific—but for the development of human beings who can think independently and act with integrity.
“Receive the children with reverence, educate them with love, and send them forth in freedom.”
This vision remains at the heart of Waldorf education today. It is an education that respects childhood, honors creativity, and fosters a deep sense of responsibility for the world.
Steiner’s Legacy in the Modern World
In a world increasingly dominated by standardized testing, digital distractions, and mechanized learning, Waldorf education offers a counterbalance—a place where childhood is protected, learning is joyful, and human beings are cultivated in their full depth and richness.
In reflecting on his contributions, one cannot help but recognize that Steiner’s insights were not just about education but about the very essence of what it means to be human. His work challenges us to think beyond efficiency, beyond testing, and beyond superficial measures of success, asking instead:
How do we raise children to be free, creative, and ethical contributors to the world?
It is this question—and the answers Steiner offered—that continue to make Waldorf education one of the most significant educational movements of our time.