Social Engagement
Waldorf schools seek to cultivate pupils' sense of social responsibility. and studies suggest that this is successful. A comparison of Waldorf and state schools in Australia found that Waldorf pupils "more frequently expressed interest and engagement in social and moral questions and showed more positive attitudes." A study by Jennifer Gidley of pupils drawn from the Waldorf schools of three Australian cities found that "students demonstrated a strong sense of activism and self-confidence and felt empowered to create their own preferred futures". Reports from small-scale studies suggest that there are lower levels of harassment and bullying in Waldorf schools.
Waldorf schools build close learning communities, founded on the shared values of its members, in ways that can lead to transformative learning experiences that allow all participants, including parents, to become more aware of their own individual path, but which at times also risk becoming exclusive.
Betty Reardon, a professor and peace researcher, suggests that Waldorf schools provide an example of schools that follow a philosophy based on peace and tolerance.
Read more about this topic: Waldorf Schools
Famous quotes containing the words social and/or engagement:
“The type of fig leaf which each culture employs to cover its social taboos offers a twofold description of its morality. It reveals that certain unacknowledged behavior exists and it suggests the form that such behavior takes.”
—Freda Adler (b. 1934)
“Pardon me, you are not engaged to any one. When you do become engaged to some one, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the fact. An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be. It is hardly a matter that she could be allowed to arrange for herself.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)