Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term progressive was engaged to distinguish this education from the traditional curricula of the 19th century, which was rooted in classical preparation for the university and strongly differentiated by social class. By contrast, progressive education finds its roots in modern experience. Most progressive education programs have these qualities in common:
Humanistic education is an approach to education based on the work of humanistic psychologists, most notably Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Rogers is regarded as the founder of humanistic psychology and devoted much of his efforts toward applying the results of his psychological research to person-centered teaching where empathy, caring about students, and genuineness on the part of the learning facilitator were found to be the key traits of the most effective teachers. He edited a series of books dealing with humanistic education in his "Studies of the Person Series," which included his book, Freedom to Learn and Learning to Feel - Feeling to Learn - Humanistic Education for the Whole Man, by Harold C. Lyon, Jr. In the 1970s the term "humanistic education" became less popular after conservative groups equated it with "Secular Humanism" and attacked the writings of Harold Lyon as being anti-Christian. That began a successful effort by Aspy, Lyon, Rogers, and others to re-label it "person-centered teaching", replacing the term "humanistic education." In a more general sense the term includes the work of other humanistic pedagogues, such as Rudolf Steiner, and Maria Montessori. All of these approaches seek to engage the "whole person": the intellect, feeling life, social capacities, and artistic and practical skills are all important focuses for growth and development. Important objectives include developing children's self-esteem, their ability to set and achieve appropriate goals, and their development toward full autonomy.
Alternative education encompasses many pedagogical approaches differing from mainstream pedagogy. Such alternative learning environments may be found within state, charter, and independent schools as well as home-based learning environments. Many educational alternatives emphasize small class sizes, close relationships between students and teachers and a sense of community.
The International School of Curitiba (ISC), founded in 1959, is located in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
Waldorf School of New Orleans is a private school based on the Waldorf philosophy. Founded in 2000, Waldorf School of New Orleans offers a developmentally appropriate, experiential approach to education, integrating the arts and academics for children from preschool through 8th grade. In 2005, the school's buildings were flooded in Hurricane Katrina.
The Waldorf School of Baltimore is a private, co-education school that was established in 1971 under the name New Morning School. It is located in the Cold Spring Newtown community, Baltimore, Maryland. It adopted the Waldorf curriculum in 1972 and now offers Parent/Child classes for infants and toddlers, a Nursery and Kindergarten program and Grades 1-8. It is a Maryland Green School. The current address of the building is 4801 Tamarind Rd, Baltimore, MD 21209.
The Vancouver Waldorf School is a private Waldorf school with preschool, kindergarten and grades 1 to 12. The main office and grade school are located at 2725 St Christophers Road in North Vancouver, British Columbia. It has a high school at a separate location in Edgemont Village. The curriculum includes an emphasis on experiential learning.
Adjacent to the 185-acre Great Meadows conservation land, the Waldorf School of Lexington (WSL), located in Lexington, Massachusetts, was founded in 1971 and serves students from preschool through grade 8. The school offers a challenging academic program, provided by faculty educated in the understanding of students’ cognitive, emotional, and physical developmental stages.
This article on the History of Waldorf schools includes descriptions of the schools' historical foundations, geographical distribution and internal governance structures.
Sunbridge Institute is a not--for-profit adult learning center located in Chestnut Ridge, New York. The institute specializes in teacher training for Waldorf education, inspired by anthroposophy. Sunbridge is a full member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North American (AWSNA) and the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN) and is a partner of SUNY Empire State College.
Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skills, with focus on imagination and creativity. Individual teachers have a great deal of autonomy in curriculum content, teaching methods, and governance. Qualitative assessments of student work are integrated into the daily life of the classroom, with standardized testing limited to what is required to enter post-secondary education. Many Waldorf schools have faced controversy due to Steiner's connections to racist ideology and magical thinking. Others have faced regulatory audits and closure due to concerns over substandard treatment of special needs children.
The Emerson Waldorf School, founded in 1984, is a Pre-K to Grade 12 Waldorf school with about 260 enrolled students. The 54-acre (0.22 km2) campus is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The school offers a curriculum based on the philosophical and pedagogical indications of Rudolf Steiner, designed to promote interdisciplinary and multi-sensory learning. The school celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2009.
Roseway Waldorf School is a coeducational privately funded school in Alverstone, near Botha's Hill, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in February 1985. The school now has programs from preschool through high school. The school is based on the principles of Waldorf education, laid down by the founder of Waldorf education, Rudolf Steiner.
In the curriculum of the Waldorf schools, much of the education in academic subjects takes place in blocks, generally of 3–5 weeks duration. Each pupil generally writes and illustrates a self-created textbook representing the material learned in the block. These blocks are supported by on-going classes in subjects such as music, art and crafts, and foreign languages that continue throughout the year.
Bright Water Waldorf School is a Preschool through Grade Eight Waldorf School in Seattle, Washington, located in the historic St. Nicholas Building on Capitol Hill; the building is a designated Seattle Landmark. Its grade school program includes Japanese, Spanish, Handwork, Woodworking, Eurhythmy, Orchestra, and Band.
Waldorf School of San Diego (WSSD) is an independent Waldorf school located in the Oak Park neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States. It offers preschool/kindergarten through 12th grade, and had an enrollment of 284 in 2011. Founded in 1981, it is one of approximately more than 250 independent North American and 1,000 worldwide Waldorf schools. The school is an accredited member school of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America].
San Francisco Waldorf School (SFWHS) is an independent preK–12 school in San Francisco, California. The school is based on the principles of Waldorf education. The kindergarten and grade school are located at 2938 Washington Street and the high school is located at 470 West Portal Avenue. About 50% of students at the high school also attended the grade school, the rest coming from public, parochial, and other independent schools. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA).
Individual education is a school system rooted in the individual psychology of Alfred Adler. Designed by Raymond Corsini, the individual education program includes a number of basic principles. The program consists of three components academic, creative/applied and socialization. Corsini also outlined disciplinary procedures and a number of other principles to ensure the most productive possible school environment.
A number of national, international and topic-based studies have been made of Waldorf education. In 2005, British educational researchers Philip Woods, Martin Ashley and Glenys Woods evaluated Steiner-Waldorf schools for the United Kingdom's Department for Education and Skills. As part of their study, the authors evaluated the state of research as of 2005 and said
Educational management refers to the administration of the education system in which a group combines human and material resources to supervise, plan, strategise, and implement structures to execute an education system. Education is the equipping of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, habits, and attitudes with learning experiences. The education system is an ecosystem of professionals in educational institutions, such as government ministries, unions, statutory boards, agencies, and schools. The education system consists of political heads, principals, teaching staff, non-teaching staff, administrative personnel and other educational professionals working together to enrich and enhance. At all levels of the educational ecosystem, management is required; management involves the planning, organising, implementation, review, evaluation, and integration of an institution.
