Problematizing child-centeredness: Discourses of control in Waldorf education

What is it about?

Waldorf education is a type of alternative education that exists in the U.S. This article looks at how Waldorf educators talk about children's development, their learning, and their needs. It finds that the Waldorf approach isn't much different from the mainstream approach used in public education in the U.S., and that it is unexpectedly authoritarian.

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Why is it important?

Findings show that practitioners in early childhood education--both in Waldorf and mainstream settings--could benefit from being self-reflective about the unintended consequences of the developmental theories that are taken for granted in the U.S.

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