How Sustainable Is a Waldorf School? Exploring the Congruence between Waldorf Education and the Sustainable School Approach in a Greek School Case Study
The study reported here aims to explore the relationship between Waldorf education and the sustainable school approach through a small-scale qualitative research study conducted in a Greek Waldorf school. Following a semi-structured interview protocol, four teachers shared their views and beliefs on...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/4/403 |
| _version_ | 1797605701355307008 |
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| author | Maria Daskolia Vassiliki Koukouzeli |
| author_facet | Maria Daskolia Vassiliki Koukouzeli |
| author_sort | Maria Daskolia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The study reported here aims to explore the relationship between Waldorf education and the sustainable school approach through a small-scale qualitative research study conducted in a Greek Waldorf school. Following a semi-structured interview protocol, four teachers shared their views and beliefs on the congruence between the two approaches as reflected in the philosophy and everyday practice of their school. The study’s findings indicate that the Greek Waldorf school manifests several of the quality criteria that define a sustainable school, with pedagogy identified as the most relevant aspect, particularly in terms of the quality of teaching and learning processes. Participants also identified common features between the two approaches on both the social/organizational and physical/technical levels. Although not all the criteria of a sustainable school are fully met, the teachers believe that the sustainability concept is implicitly interwoven with the philosophy and practice of Waldorf education and that their school is moving in the direction of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:04:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-223feda3fc5542eca9acab3f13bda9d1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:04:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-223feda3fc5542eca9acab3f13bda9d12023-11-17T18:59:59ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022023-04-0113440310.3390/educsci13040403How Sustainable Is a Waldorf School? Exploring the Congruence between Waldorf Education and the Sustainable School Approach in a Greek School Case StudyMaria Daskolia0Vassiliki Koukouzeli1Environmental Education Lab, Department of Educational Studies, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceEnvironmental Education Lab, Department of Educational Studies, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceThe study reported here aims to explore the relationship between Waldorf education and the sustainable school approach through a small-scale qualitative research study conducted in a Greek Waldorf school. Following a semi-structured interview protocol, four teachers shared their views and beliefs on the congruence between the two approaches as reflected in the philosophy and everyday practice of their school. The study’s findings indicate that the Greek Waldorf school manifests several of the quality criteria that define a sustainable school, with pedagogy identified as the most relevant aspect, particularly in terms of the quality of teaching and learning processes. Participants also identified common features between the two approaches on both the social/organizational and physical/technical levels. Although not all the criteria of a sustainable school are fully met, the teachers believe that the sustainability concept is implicitly interwoven with the philosophy and practice of Waldorf education and that their school is moving in the direction of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/4/403Waldorf educationsustainable schoolquality criteriaenvironmental and sustainability educationqualitative research |
| spellingShingle | Maria Daskolia Vassiliki Koukouzeli How Sustainable Is a Waldorf School? Exploring the Congruence between Waldorf Education and the Sustainable School Approach in a Greek School Case Study Education Sciences Waldorf education sustainable school quality criteria environmental and sustainability education qualitative research |
| title | How Sustainable Is a Waldorf School? Exploring the Congruence between Waldorf Education and the Sustainable School Approach in a Greek School Case Study |
| title_full | How Sustainable Is a Waldorf School? Exploring the Congruence between Waldorf Education and the Sustainable School Approach in a Greek School Case Study |
| title_fullStr | How Sustainable Is a Waldorf School? Exploring the Congruence between Waldorf Education and the Sustainable School Approach in a Greek School Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Sustainable Is a Waldorf School? Exploring the Congruence between Waldorf Education and the Sustainable School Approach in a Greek School Case Study |
| title_short | How Sustainable Is a Waldorf School? Exploring the Congruence between Waldorf Education and the Sustainable School Approach in a Greek School Case Study |
| title_sort | how sustainable is a waldorf school exploring the congruence between waldorf education and the sustainable school approach in a greek school case study |
| topic | Waldorf education sustainable school quality criteria environmental and sustainability education qualitative research |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/4/403 |
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