Thinking, feeling and doing: creativity in Steiner-Waldorf schools.

Abstract

The Steiner-Waldorf schools, of which there are 29 in the UK, four in Scotland and several hundred world-wide, are well known for offering a curriculum infused with creative activities. Thus, while in most other schools art, music and dance are maybe taught in addition to the three 'Rs', one could say that in the Waldorf schools the three 'Rs' are taught through art, stories, music and movement. Rudolf Steiner's ideas as well as their application in education are essentially holistic. According to Steiner, the will and feeling, developed through creative activities, gradually transform into healthy thinking. In order to begin to understand how the will and feeling are thought to transform into thinking, a questionnaire was sent to all Waldorf teachers in Scotland asking them how this happens in their own teaching. Some initial responses will be described and explored in the paper.