The Community Speaks

David Sloan

A Survey of Current Waldorf Parents

With over 1,200 Waldorf schools worldwide and over 100 years of a successful track record in education, the question of how North American parents who have chosen Waldorf education for their children assess their experiences and their children's experiences strongly came to the surface. The Waldorf Educational Foundation, a subset of the Glenmede Foundation, funded research into the authentic reactions of current parents whose children are attending pre-Kindergarten through twelfth-grade Waldorf Schools in México, Canada, and the United States. This two-pronged research project included survey questions in its first iteration of parental responses to Waldorf schools during the pandemic lock-down. It was followed by a more open and general survey of parents concerning their experiences and reactions to their children's Waldorf schools and education before and after the restrictions ended. The digestion and analysis of the data collected, both objective and subjective in quality, is insightful, well-written, and thorough concerning this unique and revolutionary approach to raising and educating the young. The book holds rich illustrations in graphs and charts to illuminate the results of this in-depth survey. The book provides a helpful look into the importance of new ideas in education and parental responsibilities in deciding about their children's educational journeys.