WALDORF EDUCATION AND PLAY IN THE KINDERGARDEN: AN OUTSTANDING THEORETICAL PROPOSAL

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the theoretical conception of play in Waldorf schools with particular emphasis on early childhood education and its relationship with play-oriented activities. It provides a brief profile of Rudolf Steiner, and a summary of the relevant theoretical principles of Waldorf education. The analysis is framed by critical historiography in relation to intellectual history.

The main contribution of this article resides in the identification of six defining characteristics of play in an anthroposophical education. These are: the capacity to contribute to the consolidation of evolutionary milestones; the connection with the imitative nature of the child; the placement of play in such a way that it favours healthy breathing; the use of versatile and natural materials; the exclusion of intellectual components in the educational objectives; and, finally, its relationship with the spiritual development of children. As a result, the article concludes that the novelty that Waldorf bring to the educational debate on play, childhood, and education is the need to integrate education to play rather than play to education.