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Waldorf school in Trier, Germany

Waldorf education (also known as Steiner or Steiner-Waldorf education) is a humanistic approach to pedagogy based upon the educational philosophy of the Austrianphilosopher Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Learning is interdisciplinary, integrating practical, artistic, and conceptual elements.^[1] The approach emphasizes the role of the imagination in learning,^{[2][3][4][5]:69} developing thinking that includes a creative as well as an analytic component.^[6][7] The educational philosophy’s overarching goals are to provide young people the basis on which to develop into free, morally responsible^[8][9] and integrated individuals,^[2][10][11] and to help every child fulfill his or her unique destiny, the existence of which anthroposophy posits.^[12][13] Schools and teachers are given considerable freedom to define curriculawithin collegial structures.^[14]

The first Waldorf school was founded in 1919 to serve the children of employees at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. As of 2010 there were 995 independent Waldorf schools located in sixty countries throughout the world;^[15] as of 2001 there were 1400 kindergartens and 120 institutions for special education world-wide.^[16] There are also Waldorf-based public (state) schools, charter schools, and homeschooling environments;^[2] in addition, other state and private schools are increasingly using methods drawn from Waldorf education.^[17][18]