DESIGNING THE FUTURE

Innovation, Difference, Performance Designing the Future- Educational Research Conference held at Flinders University 2003
Dr. Bill Wood presented a paper at the Designing the Future Education conference in 2003 titled, Innovation, Difference and Performance, in what Dr. Wood describes as the ’marriage between general education and the higher education performance of students at The Mount Barker Steiner School.’
The Australian Department of Education states that 'education of the highest quality is the foundation for all our futures. It is education which empowers us to rise to the challenges of social, cultural, economic and technological change that we confront daily.' In his paper Dr. Wood sets out to identify examples of innovation, difference and performance in Rudolf Steiner Education.
Innovation: Dr Wood distinguished marked innovation in the curriculum of Rudolf Steiner Schools compared to other government or non-government schools. The 'curriculum physiology' is based on child development. It is under this chronological scheme that the schooling is structured. Dr. wood went to great effort to research the relationship of the Rudolf Steiner system with other contemporary theories, only to conclude that it was "quite different from other schema. The curriculum noticeably varies from other schools and could be said to be innovative."Curriculum-A brief history The Learning Program
Difference: The main structural difference of Rudolf Steiner Schools from other schools is that are divided into three main areas of development as descibed by Dr. Steiner. The first stage caters for the child from birth to the age of 7 years, or the change of teeth. The emphasis of this period of schooling is physical development. Education Under 7 Kindergarten
In the second stage emphasis is given to the child's emotional development. Here the life of the soul is developed through specific imaginative and artistic content provided by the teacher. Unlike most schools, the one teacher stays with the one class from grade 1 to grade 7. These teachers are given specialist support in some subjects, for languages or crafts, for example.Dr Wood notes, 'in the literal sense, teachers of these age groups are the individual authors of the curriculum they teach.' Primary School
In the third stage students are aged from 13-18 years. What is emphasised at this stage is cultivating the development of the students' capacity for independent thought accompanied with a sense of right judgement-'a philosophy of freedom.' Teachers at this level are specialists in their subject area, and are bound in a mentoring role to their students through pastoral care called 'guardianship.' Year 12 school leavers are often older than other school leavers, usually by one year. High school- Middle /Upper
Organizational Difference- Consistent with Rudolf Steiner's indications, Rudolf Steiner Schools have no principal. The legally responsible body at the school is the College of Teachers. Membership to this body is generally open to all teaching staff who are willing to commit time to running the school and maintaining its general well being. Decisions of the college are by consensus. As Dr. Wood says, "this form of Collegiate is rare in any educational institution." The college is supported by a number of sub-committees with specific functions, eg. The Finance Committee, The Camp Committee and so on. Decisions of these committees are referred to the college for approval. Often times there is a Parent Council, which constitutionally has a supportive rather than executive role. Dr wood cites Hargreaves who suggests that ‘diversity entails the acceptance of innovation at the school level but this entails that central control is weaker.' Hargreaves also suggests that ‘the challenge for policy is to address the issue of how the curriculum can “create a sense of community and common values in a context where knowledge cannot be restricted in any way and where individual control of access to knowledge is much more powerful than that which might be exerted by an external agency.”
Dr Wood concludes "Teachers are largely autonomous in professional matters, though there are industrially agreed periods of peer review of all staff. Being autonomous does not mean there is little or no collaboration between staff, or de-facto no general oversight or control of staff by the college." On the contrary, the level of autonomy is in direct relation to the level of individual responsibility- a trait highly regarded in Steiner Schools. Communication is embedded into every level of interaction, and is given a high level of priority. Teachers are required to participate in both general college and faculty college meetings on a weekly basis. Parent teacher meetings take place generally once per term. Communication
Curriculum Differences: As Dr Wood astutely observed, "bridging the gap from school organization to curriculum, is the general organization of the school day." The school day is broken into three periods; Main Lesson, Middle Lesson and Block Lesson.
The main lesson primarily addresses the head or intellect. This lesson runs from the time the students arrive at school for roughly two hours, with appropriate short breaks. The wisdom behind this method has been rediscovered in the rhythm of 'peak-performance'. The maximum blood circulation is centralized in the head region, promoting optimum clarity at this time.
The middle lessons address the trunk region and consequently stimulates the heart forces. Here the student is contained in a rhythmic balance and all care is taken to provide an environment rich with curriculum activities that appeal to the feeling life.
The afternoon arrives and already much of the forces that were fresh and centralized at the beginning of the day have been dispersed. Here it necessary to provide a focused activity but this time through the engagement of the will, found in the limb system. Much of the afternoon in Rudolf Steiner schools are spent 'doing'.
Each area of study is taught for a period of 3-4 weeks. For example a main lesson will continue with one theme or topic in the mornings for 3 weeks. The students gather and record their work in their 'main lesson books'. These books are a record of student achievement that is consistent throughout the school from class one to twelve. There is a strong emphasis on artistic presentation in these books, including a marking system whereby the students are given comments rather than grades in the books.
Practice lessons occupy the middle part of the day, often employing rhythm and movement to stimulate and reinforce concepts.
In the afternoon artistic and expressive lessons occupy a regular part of the curriculum across all grades.
The Rudolf Steiner School curriculum is based on the premise that a broad general education is important for all students, therefore all students must do all subjects. Specialization is only possible in upper high-school and even then students are encouraged to maintain a balance between the humanities, the social sciences and the sciences.
In year 12 students are given the opportunity to initiate a major project. This involves choosing a subject area upon which to base the project, finding a mentor and supervisor to oversee and support the project production, writing a ‘thesis’-usually between 3000-10000 words, and finally giving a presentation to the school and wider community at the end of the year-usually of 45 minutes duration. As Dr Wood says, ‘the project functions as a profound learning experience for most students. It is part of the rites of passage that end in the students moving from the closed environment of the school to the wider world.’
In preparation for University entrance some Rudolf Steiner High Schools offer regular state accreditation, for example, The Higher School Certificate in N.S.W, including University Admissions Index. Shearwater, The Mullumbimby Steiner School: options for senior studies
Dr Wood’s paper, Innovation, Difference, Performance presented at Designing the Future- An Educational Research Conference held at Flinders University in 2003, concluded by giving some examples of major works completed at The Mount Barker Rudolf Steiner School, the school upon which his research was based. At Mt. Barker Rudolf Steiner School students can opt for either school developed grades ‘South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre’ (SATAC) grades, or school assessment. Students from Mount Barker Steiner School in South Australia are enrolled into university entrance through SATAC. This followed initial acceptance of the students by the universities.
Performance: The final part of Dr Wood’s paper is devoted to empirical research based on initial figures and results of all Mt. Barker R.S. School graduates that have gone on to university. These results have been published and now stand as an independent picture which is both favourable and fascinating.They indicate clearly that the students of this schooling system are able to move into the next phase of education with competency and confidence along side their non-Steiner educated peers.
Summary: Dr. Wood’s paper sets out to present his findings on the culture of innovation, difference and performance in a Rudolf Steiner School and what Dr. Wood describes as the ’marriage between general education and the higher education performance of students at The Mount Barker Steiner School.’ Dr. Wood makes reference to the UNESCO Institute of Education publication written by Rist and Schneider (1979), where he cites the phase ‘lifelong learning’ in relation to Steiner education. It was noted this book dealt with integrating the general and vocational education of students at the Hibernia Steiner School in Germany. Dr Wood goes on to describe the process of Steiner Education being an ‘almost accidental preparation for university itself, rather than the current preoccupation of senior secondary schools with preparation for university entrance.’
....Sounds almost ideal!
References: Dr. Bill Wood - Innovation, Difference, Performance, a paper presented at
Designing the Future; Educational Research Conference, held at Flinders University 2003.
N.B The hyperlinks in this document are examples taken from Shearwater, The Mullumbimby Steiner School. Dr Wood based the research for his paper on Mt. Barker Rudolf Steiner School.