(Re)inhabiting Waldorf Education: Honolulu Teachers Explore the Notion of Place

Date
2017-12-15
Authors
Boland, N
Demirbag, JR
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Educational Journal of Living Theories (EJOLTS)
Abstract

This article tells of an unfinished journey we took with a group of teachers in Honolulu as we investigate and navigate notions of place and belonging. We explain how we are developing and transforming relationships with our values-embodied expressions of aloha and anthroposophy - and how we are challenging previously held ideas. The journey is being taken against the backdrop of the Steiner Waldorf curriculum with the idea of disrupting tradition by discussing the 'un-sayable' and, through this, to allow an original, authentic living educational theory to evolve; we believe that (re)inhabiting the curriculum is necessary for meaningful, relevant teaching. As part of the research, the teachers in this community prepare for an audit of their curriculum, possibly the first of its kind in a Waldorf school. We offer a series of snapshots taken along the way following an action research model and laying out our living educational theory, involving discussion groups, artistic responses, engagement with local communities, and practical projects.

Description
Keywords
Waldorf Education; Place-based Learning; Disrupting Traditions; Steiner Education; Living Educational Theory
Source
Educational Journal of Living Theories, Volume 10(2): pp. 20-50
DOI
Publisher's version
Rights statement
Copyright: © 2017 Boland & Demirbag. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.