Holistic Education in the Public Sector: Examining Parents’ Perceptions of Waldorf Charters

• In Event: Roundtable Session 39
  In Roundtable Session: Practicing Holistic Education Within a Fragmented Education System

Abstract

This study examined experiences associated with attending public Waldorf schools as related through self-generated responses posted on the national website, GreatSchools.org. Non-solicited responses were drawn from 23 public Waldorf schools and 27 comparison schools and examined for themes relating to parent-school relationships, traditional academics, and holistic education. Themes and frequency codes showed similar overall patterns of responses between Waldorf and comparison schools; however, there were significantly more positive responses for components of holistic education in Waldorf schools than in comparison school. For both Waldorf and comparison schools leadership showed the highest relative number of negative responses. Explanations as to how institutional, cultural, and organizational factors impact the capacity for holistic education to succeed in the public sector are discussed.

Authors

• Abigail Lane Larrison, University of California - San Diego

• Carol Van Vooren, California State University - San Marcos