This book marks the centenary of the first Waldorf School, established
by Rudolf Steiner in Stuttgart in 1919. With around 1,150 Waldorf
Schools and over 1,800 Waldorf Kindergartens established in over 60
countries, this book examines and analyses how the initial impulse of
Steiner education has grown over the last century to become a worldwide
alternative movement in education. The author documents and compares the
growth and development of Waldorf schools and Steiner-inspired
educational institutions around the world, and determines the extent to
which the original underpinning philosophy has been maintained against
the contexts and challenges of contemporary global trends in education.
Within such diverse international contexts, it is significant that the
schools retain such a distinctive identity, and clearly redefine how
'alternative education' can be viewed. This comprehensive volume will be
of interest and value to scholars of Steiner education and Waldorf
schools as well as alternative education more widely.