Learning through head, heart and hands: nature education in Steiner (Waldorf) schools in China

• In Event: Highlighted session: Education for sustainability and recovery of our spiritual and child-like Self: the promise of contemplative methods and pedagogies

Proposal

Steiner (Waldorf) Education is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, with the aim of inspiring children to develop into confident, creative, comprehensive thinkers with a strong sense of social responsibility (Paull, 2011). The first Steiner school was founded in 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany. In recent years in China, parents have been seeking alternatives outside of the mainstream education system, and there has been a major expansion of Steiner education in the past decade. It is estimated that there are 40 new schools and 500 new kindergartens that draw on Steiner’s pedagogical methods, to promote the development of the whole child (Nylander, 2014).

Drawing on Steiner’s theories and empirical data collected during my ethnographic fieldwork in two Steiner schools in China, this paper explores how nature education is understood and practised, based on the model of ‘Head, Heart and Hands’. How sustainable living is practised in the Steiner schools, as well as in the community among parents, teachers and children, will also be discussed.

Also, the ‘Head, Heart and Hands model’ is a helpful, integral philosophy in the Steiner schools. A scientifically-based understanding of natural processes (‘Head’), a love of nature (‘Heart’), and active care for the environment (‘Hands’) are the three levels on which students of all ages learn to live in partnership and co-operation with the living world. Findings from my empirical observations in the Chinese Steiner schools in China were aligned with this model. I also found that children in Steiner schools do not only learn about nature, they also learn through nature - nature itself is the teacher.

At the ‘Head’ level, nature education is about showing children the natural rhythms of life, revealing our kinship with all living things. There is also careful observation to see what the natural world has to teach us.

Scientific knowledge is not divorced from the complementary and indispensable emotional component. As John Burroughs (1919) puts it, "Knowledge without love will not stick. But if love comes first, knowledge is sure to follow.” Thus at the ‘Heart’ level, the Steiner (Waldorf) curriculum seeks to help students develop a healthy connection to the natural world and to develop a sense of wonder and reverence.

Finally, the ‘Hands’ level is about our responsibility for the natural world as humans collectively and as individuals. For instance, in the Steiner schools where I conducted my fieldwork, students learnt to grow food and were also taking care of the gardens and animals in small farms in the school communities.

To conclude, this paper explores, both theoretically and empirically, the Steiner’s perspective on nature education in Steiner schools in China. This may provide insights and implications for educators and researchers: how we an have a more holistic approach on nature education in schools integrating head, heart and hands, rather than only feeding students facts and knowledge about nature.

Author

• Yifan Sun, University of Cambridge