Wa L D O R F
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Survey of Waldorf Graduates Phase II David Mitchell and Douglas Gerwin RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONWa l d o r f Research Institute for Waldorf Education Survey of Waldorf Graduates Phase II David Mitchell and Douglas Gerwin Printed with support from the Waldorf Educational Foundation Published by: Research Institute for Waldorf Education P.O. Box 307 Wilton, New Hampshire 03086 [email protected] www. waldorfresearchinstitute.org Title: Survey of Waldorf Graduates, Phase II Research and Analysis: Douglas Gerwin and David Mitchell Statistical Analysis: Ida Oberman, PhD, and Yasuyo Abe, PhD Survey Administrator: Arthur Pittis Editors: David Mitchell and Douglas Gerwin Layout: David Mitchell Proofreader: Ann Erwin © 2007 by Research Institute for Waldorf Education ISBN: 978-1-888365-82-5 Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... 9 ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... 11 HIGH sCHOOL gROWTH IN nORTH AMERICA ........................................................ 15 PROFILE OF A TYPICAL WALDORF gRADUATE ........................................................ 16 METHOD uSED IN THIS sURVEY .......................................................................... 17 RESULTS, oBSERVATIONS, AND ANALYSIS ............................................................. 19 1. oVERVIEW OF PARTICIpaNTS ............................................................... 19 2. HIGHER eDUCATION OF WALDORF sCHOOL gRADUATES ...................... 21 YEAR oFF bEFORE cOLLEGE ...................................................... 21 COLLEGES AND uNIVERSITIES ATTENDED BY rESPONDENTS ............ 22 . COLLEGES THAT gRADUATED WALDORF ALUMNI/AE ..................... 23 FIELDS OF mAJOR sTUDY IN cOLLEGE ......................................... 24 WALDORF gRADUATES cOMpaRED TO u.S. POPULATION ................ 25 DEGREES eARNED BY rESPONDENTS ........................................... 26 SPECIAL HONORS AND AWARDS .................................................... 27 STUDIES bEYOND uNDERGRADUATE lEVEL ................................... 27 IMPRESSIONS OF WALDORF sTUDENTS FROM cOLLEGE PROFESSORS 28 QUOTES ABOUT WALDORF gRADUATES FROM PROFESSORS ............. 29 3. cOLLEGE gRADUATES’ rELATIONSHIP TO WORK .................................. 31 OCCUpaTIONS AND eMPLOYMENT sTATUS ...................................... 31 YEARS sPENT IN oCCUpaTION AFTER eARNING UNDERGRADUATE dEGREE .............................................. 32 GRADUATES WHO dID NOT ATTEND OR cOMPLETE cOLLEGE ......... 33 OCCUpaTIONS OF THOSE WHO dID NOT gRADUATE FROM cOLLEGE 33 RELATIONSHIP TO WORK ............................................................. 34 YEARS IN sAME oCCUpaTION ....................................................... 35 WORK fORCE eXPERIENCE ........................................................... 35 IMPRESSIONS OF WALDORF sTUDENTS FROM eMPLOYERS ................ 39 4. cULTURAL AND sOCIAL ACTIVITIES .................................................... 41 5. iNTEREST IN THE nEWS ..................................................................... 43 6. HUMAN rELATIONSHIPS ..................................................................... 45 MARRIAGE OR lONG TERM cOMMITTED rELATIONSHIP .................. 45 SATISFACTION WITH cURRENT rELATIONSHIP ................................ 45 FRIENDSHIPS .............................................................................. 45 CHILDREN OF gRADUATES ........................................................... 46 CHILDREN OF gRADUATES ATTENDING WALDORF sCHOOLS ............ 46 INFLUENCE OF WALDORF eDUCATION ON cHILD rEARING .............. 47 7. gENERAL eXPERIENCE OF lIFE .......................................................... 49 8. eXPERIENCE OF WALDORF eDUCATION ................................................ 53 9. iNFLUENCE AND iMPORTANCE OF WALDORF eDUCATION IN lIFE ............ 57 10. ASPECTS OF WALDORF rEJECTED BUT NOW sEEN dIFFERENTLY ............. 61 11. rELATIONSHIP TO ANTHROPOSOPHY .................................................... 63 12. HEALTH ........................................................................................... 65 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS ....................................................................................... 67 PROBLEMS eNCOUNTERED WITH THE sURVEY ......................................................... 95 NEXT sTEPS FOR fURTHER rESEARCH .................................................................. 97 APPENDICES ....................................................................................................... 99 A. COLLEGES ATTENDED BY sURVEY PARTICIpaNTS .................................. 101 B. FIELDS OF mAJOR sTUDY IN cOLLEGE ................................................. 105 C. SPECIAL HONORS rECEIVED BY rESPONDENTS .................................... 109 D. OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS WITH eXAMPLES ......................................... 111 E. PERTINENT QUESTIONS THAT cOULD HAVE bEEN ASKED IN THE sURVEY 131 F. SAMPLE OF sURVEY ........................................................................... 135 G. SUMMARY OF PHASE i ........................................................................ 141 H. SAMPLE QUESTIONS FOR PROFESSORS AND eMPLOYERS ........................ 143 I. SELECTION OF ANECDOTES FROM PROFESSORS ...................................... 145 J. SELECTION OF ANECDOTES FROM eMPLOYERS ...................................... 165 K. SELECTION OF ANECDOTES FROM gRADUATES ...................................... 167 Acknowledgements A work of this magnitude involves the efforts of many people. The Research Institute for Waldorf Education would like to express its gratitude to those people involved in this Survey of Waldorf Graduates. We begin by thanking the Board of Trustees of the Waldorf Educational Foundation whose vision recognized the importance of the project and provided funds in support of the research. Established by H. A.W. and Mabel Pew Myrin, the WEF has supported the efforts of Waldorf education on this continent for half a century. Profoundly grateful for the Foundation’s support, we hope that this effort will help mark the fiftieth anniversary of WEF’s founding. Arthur Pittis provided dedicated and focused work as the administrator of Phase II. He collected all the data, managed the database, and provided initial analysis. His individual persistence and tireless efforts at times equalled the force of three people. Courtney Lipscomb gave secretarial assistance to Arthur and provided invaluable input during the stages of data collection. Ida Oberman gave valuable advice during the final stages of the write-up and offered her findings from the vantage point of a professional statistician. Yasuyo Abe collaborated with Ida. John Davis provided assistance with the overview of an expert researcher in the final stages. He helped to ensure that the general public would be able to read and understand the presentation and that all research protocols were accurate. Patrice Maynard provided assistance in gathering funding for the project and gave a final read to the document before the study was made public. Ann Erwin offered her considerable skills as a proofreader to make the final work correct and consistent in format, grammar, and voice. Milan Daler provided financial oversight and kept accurate records of all grant monies received and spent. Appreciation is also due to the board members of the Research Institute who were ready with advice and encouragement as they listened to periodic reports on the evolution of the research. The Research Institute would like to especially thank the respondents—all the graduates from far and wide who took the time to participate in the survey. Gratitude is also expressed to the Waldorf high schools throughout North America, which provided names and contact information so that we could reach the graduates. Finally, we express our gratitude to the committed teachers, staff, and administrators who were their guides. 0 Abstract It has taken approximately two years to formulate, conduct, and evaluate this survey of North American Waldorf graduates, starting with the first Waldorf senior class in 1943 and culminating with the class of 2005. A rich source of statistical and analytical information is now available to be mined by the Research Institute and those who read this study. The survey, based on a sample of around 550 participants spanning some sixty years, suggests that a majority of Waldorf graduates share many characteristics, of which three are predominant: • Waldorf graduates value the opportunity to think for themselves and to translate their new ideas into practice. They both value and practice life-long learning and have a highly developed sense for aesthetics. • Waldorf graduates value lasting human relationships—and they seek out opportunities to be of help to other people. • Waldorf graduates sense they are guided by an inner moral compass that helps them navigate the trials and temptations of professional and private life. They carry high ethical principles into their chosen professions. The graduates surveyed demonstrated that they are capable of achieving what they want in life and are happy in the process of pursuing their goals. The majority consider life-long learning as a significant part of their life journey. They are devoted to their families, both to their own parents as well as to the families they