Lithuania

In Lithuania twenty programs offer Waldorf education to preschool children. More than half are within government kindergartens and financed by the state; the others are independent initiatives, carried by associations.

The structure and organization of these programs is quite diverse: there are large government Waldorf kindergartens, there are Waldorf groups in government kindergartens that have been working for ten or even almost twenty years, and there are independent kindergartens with a lot of experience and very new initiatives that want to become Waldorf kindergartens. And finally there are programs that have taken on only a few elements of Waldorf pedagogy into their educational practice.

Waldorf education is officially recognized as a form of alternative education. This creates the legal background for realizing the ideas of Waldorf education and making it available in Lithuania.

All kindergartens in Lithuania are open all day. There are normally about 20 children in a group with two to three educators who care for them throughout the whole day. There are very few foreigners in Lithuania, so naturally children grow up in a climate of traditional culture. Children must go to school in the calendar year when they turn seven.

Finances. State kindergarten programs receive 100% of their support from the government. In independent kindergartens 30% of the necessary expenses for each child are reimbursed by the state and the parents pay the rest. Sometimes there is some support from the municipality. What this means is that there is always an abundant lack of funds in the private kindergartens.

Looking back and ahead into the future. The ideas of Waldorf education began to be known at the beginning of the 1990’s when Lithuania became independent. In recent years Waldorf education is becoming more and more popular and beloved. New kindergartens and schools are being founded. There are parent courses and public events. But few books about Waldorf education have been published in Lithuanian; there are still no eurythmists and no anthroposophical doctors. Thus one can say that Waldorf education is still in its pioneer phase. There is still a lot to do and there are not enough people to do everything.

Working together. The Waldorf impulse developed here in a very particular way, with great freedom for personal initiative. We have founded an association where membership is open not only to established Waldorf kindergartens but also to initiatives that hope to come into being one day. We have set ourselves the following tasks: to support the quality of Waldorf education in Lithuania, to organize training and professional development courses, to collaborate with individuals and institutions in Lithuania and in other countries in order to strengthen and intensify the work, and to be active advocates for healthy childhood.

Training. At the moment this is the main task of our association, as the quality of Waldorf education is dependent on the training of our educators. A (part-time) training course took place in February 2016 with nearly 40 students enrolled. After two-and-a-half years the students completed their training. In October 2020 a second preschool teacher course started. This will last 3.5 year (2020-2024).

Rasa Ragauskaitė Driukienė is a Waldorf early childhood educator in Vilnius and represents Lithuania in the IASWECE Council.

Website for the Association for Waldorf Education in Lithuania

East Africa

In 1990, the first Waldorf School started in Nairobi, Kenya. Since then Waldorf Education has expanded in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the three countries that form the East African Community.

Waldorf kindergarten education has been growing all this time, to the point now where there are four well established kindergartens and a large number of initiatives in the three countries. At the conference the first 13 kindergarten teachers received their diplomas, a very special moment in the lives of these teachers. Another 21 teachers, who have completed their modules, are eagerly awaiting being mentored in their classrooms, a task that needs urgent addressing. Then, there will follow another 28 teachers currently in training, and the numbers keep growing!

Training. The kindergarten training is part of a larger program that also trains primary school teachers for the schools in East Africa. Ann Sharfman (kindergarten) and Peter van Alphen (primary) from Cape Town, South Africa have been running these program’s for for many years at the Rudolf Steiner School in Nairobi. The purpose has been to lay a strong foundation for East African Waldorf Education by providing East African teachers with an ongoing development program. Schools, in the past, relied heavily on teachers from Europe and elsewhere. The disadvantage was that most could only stay for short periods and their input could not be sustained.

The training work has been a source of rich and deep experiences, both for students and trainers. East African individuals find a profound resonance in Waldorf Education with who they are, within their culture and particular environment. The intensity of discussion that follows the study of the principles of Waldorf Education is high among the students, and is inevitably followed by a host of questions and further interchange. It demonstrates how truly universal the principles of Waldorf education are, and how they are able to touch people from different parts of the world, each finding their unique way of expressing them in the service of the children in their care. As mentioned above, with the increasing numbers of kindergarten teachers in training, comes an increasing need for mentorship to guide them in applying what they have gained during the modules. Guiding and mentoring teachers in the classroom is a vital part of the training process.

There are three established schools with kindergartens in East Africa, that are a support to the many initiatives whose teachers are in training and are striving to develop Waldorf schools. The Rudolf Steiner School, Mbagathi, Nairobi was established first. This school caters for poorer children who live in the vicinity of the school, on the Maasai plains and the nearby town of Rongai. Most of these children are being sponsored by well-wishers from many different parts of the world. The school has a boarding house to house orphans and children from slum homes or rural areas. In their kindergartens and playgroup there are two teachers who qualified on the training program, and one who has completed the ten modules but is waiting to be mentored before she can qualify.

The Nairobi Waldorf School runs its own kindergarten as well as the Kileleshwa Kindergarten in another suburb of Nairobi. This school, like the Hekima Waldorf School in Dar es Salaam, caters for middle class families. Numbers of Ugandan teachers have attended the training program from the start, but due to various difficulties, they have not received the mentoring that follows the completion of the modules offered in Nairobi. It is hoped that the mentorship program can be extended to include Uganda soon, following a visit to establish the needs of each school’s situation.

It has become possible for Ann and Peter to spend a great deal more time in East Africa, in order to regularly mentor and guide teachers in the schools and initiative schools in the region. This aspect of the work is vitally important for the teachers who strive for excellence in their teaching. However, the necessary funding still needs to be found to carry out this work to the full.

A strong, vibrant community of East African teachers is emerging, promising an empowered and fulfilling future for the children in their care. Ultimately, every East African teacher’s wish, which has been expressed again and again, is to bring this opportunity to every child in their respective countries.

Ann Sharfman is Waldorf kindergarten teacher and an internal active trainer

South Africa

There are 17 Waldorf schools in South Africa, and connected to these are approximately 50 Waldorf early childhood settings – toddler groups (2 to 3s), playgroups (3 to 4s) and kindergartens (4 to 6s). Some of the Waldorf schools are currently involved in initiating birth to three groups. More and more early childhood centers that are already established in the townships (catering for birth to school-going age) are keen to participate in the Waldorf movement. This is realized through teacher training, mentoring, and sharing-gatherings held each term.

Training. Tertiary training for Waldorf teachers takes place at the Centre for Creative Education (CFCE), situated in Cape Town. The CFCE has acquired state accreditation and offers a level 4 and level 5 certificate in early childhood development, a Bachelor of Arts (Dance) in Eurythmy and a Bachelor of Education in primary school teaching. The early childhood training primarily serves teachers in the townships. About 20 early childhood teachers receive certificates each year. The CFCE also offers a Birth to Three course with modular training, workshops and mentoring for those who work with this age group in underprivileged settings. The CFCE receives much-needed funding from local and international supporters. IASWECE is one of the funders that generously sponsors aspects of the training.

There is an urgent need for trained teachers to carry out the mentoring, and a corresponding need for funding.

Looking back and perspectives for the future. The South African Waldorf school movement is at an interesting point in its development. The two founding Waldorf schools have been going for 56 years now, which means the last of the pioneers are moving on and leaving the following generations of teachers to uphold the movement. An increasing number of new teachers are drawn to Waldorf education. One could say that the Waldorf movement is in a phase of consolidation. Educators are striving to bring together the wisdom of the pioneer teachers and merge it with what is calling from the present, forging the movement into one of strength that can work effectively within this country.

Working together. Unlike most countries, we do not have an association specifically for early childhood. Instead, the South African Federation of Waldorf Schools is responsible for all Waldorf education. The Federation Council is urgently addressing the burning issue of state centralisation. By liaising with the various education departments, the right of Waldorf schools to independence has so far been maintained. It is an ongoing fight for the very life of our Waldorf schools, especially in the face of increasingly prescriptive policies for the early years, such as the imposition of an early childhood development curriculum.

Burning questions. The general picture throughout the country is of an ever-widening socio-economic divide, and some of our Waldorf schools operate in very restricted circumstances. It is uncertain whether they would manage without the generous sponsorship that is received from both international and local benefactors.

Violence, including domestic violence, is on the rise and impacts on our schools and children. Waldorf schools provide a haven of tranquility and healing for the abused child, but it is now becoming necessary to employ one or more family counsellors to augment the work of the teachers. The need for remedial therapists, particularly in the early years, is also being felt. Crime is rife; schools cope with vandalism and theft as best they can – from fencing and security guards where affordable, to burglar bars, security gates, and even parents taking turns to sleep over and guard the property.

There are so many challenges in South Africa: it is a blessing that we have a vibrant, positive and growing Waldorf movement to face them. Through ongoing striving, working together and offering a helping hand – many things are possible…

Mary-G. Häuptle, Waldorf kindergarten teacher, trainer and mentor at the CFCE in Cape Town and an IASWECE Council member

Website of the South African Federation of Waldorf Schools
Centre for Creative Education (Training Center)