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Exploring literacy in the Waldorf and brain-based Grade 1 environment
Author(s)
Levin, Joy
Date Issued
2012
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
This is an ethnographic study comparing two Grade 1 classrooms in different schooling
systems in terms of literacy. The first is in a 'brain-based' school, in the public schooling
system. Factors such as proper nutrition, hydration, the role of movement, and
emotional interest are featured. The second is in a Waldorf school, representing the
largest independent schooling system worldwide. Waldorf takes a slower approach to
teaching literacy through using aesthetic, storytelling, creative expression, and
movement in the learning of letters. Both schooling systems have been analyzed in
terms of their placing of importance on the psycho-motor, affective and cognitive
faculties of the child.
The study involved spending time in each classroom to observe the physical qualities of
the school environment, the rhythms of the day and the content taught. The purpose
was to see if certain techniques or insights into the teaching of literacy could be
obtained from the two systems which would have relevance in other schooling systems. . .
Brain-based and Waldorf schooling come from two very different backgrounds. Brainbased
schooling is a contemporary attempt at bridging studies of the impact of
neuroscience on education and classroom practice. It considers the role of three levels
of the brain - the reptilian, the limbic and the cognitive - in working together towards
healthy education. It relies on theories such as Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences,
learning types, and the need for proper nutrition and movement within the education
day. Waldorf education is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner in the early 1900s and is
based on a developmental perspective of the child as a spiritual being. It considers the
child within a larger world, and needing the creative aspect of storytelling and artistic
expression in the integration of intellectual material. The two have been compared for
their similarities and differences, in relation to the teaching of literacy.
systems in terms of literacy. The first is in a 'brain-based' school, in the public schooling
system. Factors such as proper nutrition, hydration, the role of movement, and
emotional interest are featured. The second is in a Waldorf school, representing the
largest independent schooling system worldwide. Waldorf takes a slower approach to
teaching literacy through using aesthetic, storytelling, creative expression, and
movement in the learning of letters. Both schooling systems have been analyzed in
terms of their placing of importance on the psycho-motor, affective and cognitive
faculties of the child.
The study involved spending time in each classroom to observe the physical qualities of
the school environment, the rhythms of the day and the content taught. The purpose
was to see if certain techniques or insights into the teaching of literacy could be
obtained from the two systems which would have relevance in other schooling systems. . .
Brain-based and Waldorf schooling come from two very different backgrounds. Brainbased
schooling is a contemporary attempt at bridging studies of the impact of
neuroscience on education and classroom practice. It considers the role of three levels
of the brain - the reptilian, the limbic and the cognitive - in working together towards
healthy education. It relies on theories such as Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences,
learning types, and the need for proper nutrition and movement within the education
day. Waldorf education is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner in the early 1900s and is
based on a developmental perspective of the child as a spiritual being. It considers the
child within a larger world, and needing the creative aspect of storytelling and artistic
expression in the integration of intellectual material. The two have been compared for
their similarities and differences, in relation to the teaching of literacy.
Additional information
Thesis (MTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012
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