HOLISTIC EDUCATION: AN ANALYSIS OF ITS PEDAGOGICAL APPLICATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Lucila Telles Rudge, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Brian W. Edmiston, Advisor Approved by Dr. Anna O. Soter, Co-advisor Dr. Bryan R. Warnick ____________________________ Advisor Dr. Rebecca Kantor College of Education and Human Ecology Dr. John P. Miller ABSTRACT This dissertation is a theoretical and interpretative study, in which I analyze and evaluate the pedagogical application of the philosophical ideas advocated by the holistic education movement in four approaches to schooling. Holistic education is an eclectic and inclusive movement, which emerged in the mid-1980s as a response to the then dominant worldview of mainstream education. It is an educational paradigm that integrates the idealistic ideas of humanistic education with spiritual philosophical ideas. It incorporates principles of spirituality, wholeness, and interconnectedness along with principles of freedom, autonomy, and democracy. Holistic education theorists assume an integration of what most progressive and democratic movements in education have proposed should be kept separate, namely, spirituality and humanistic ideals. While these principles may be combined philosophically into an ideal of education, the question I ask in this study is as follows: could they be jointly applied in an approach to education? In this dissertation, therefore, I explore the pedagogical applicability of these principles and examine some of the tensions that arose for me as I compared how holistic education principles were applied in different approaches to schooling. ii To carry out this study I selected four approaches to schooling that draw on holistic educational ideals in order to analyze the pedagogical application of the philosophical principles advocated by the leading theorists in the holistic education movement. For analytical purposes, I synthesized the principles of holistic education into eight broad principles (spirituality, reverence to life/nature, interconnectedness, human wholeness, individual uniqueness, caring relations, freedom/autonomy, and democracy). For each of the appointed principles, I identified pedagogical features across the selected school systems that I argue promote that particular principle and I examined the way and the extent by which they are applied. Finally, I compared the findings of all pedagogical features to determine the extent to which each principle is applied in each of the pedagogical approaches to schooling. The findings of this study indicated that there are tensions in accommodating pedagogically the spiritual and humanistic principles of holistic education in one approach to education. I examine some of these tensions across the four selected approaches to schooling. iii Dedicated to my beloved children Julia and Matheu, for their love and endurance throughout this challenging journey iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to the members of my committee, Dr. Brian W. Edmiston, Dr. Anna O. Soter, Dr. Bryan R. Warnick, Dr. Rebecca Kantor, and Dr. John P. Miller. I want to express my appreciation for the thorough work of Dr. Soter. I want to give special thanks to Dr. Warnick for his help in the last stages of this dissertation and to Dr. John Miller for his guidance in the earlier stages. I also want to acknowledge my gratitude to Dr. Ron Miller, who gave me advice in the very early stage of this dissertation. And finally, I want to express my deep appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Edmiston, for his guidance, support, and assistance throughout my study at OSU. v VITA 1962………………………………………. Born – São Paulo, Brazil 1987………………………………………. B.A. in Performing Arts, University of São Paulo 2000………………………………………. M.A. in Drama in Education, University of Central England 1985-2002………………………………… Foreign Language and Drama Teacher, Brazil, San Martin, and United Kingdom 2002-2008………………………………….Doctoral student, The Ohio State University 2004-2007………………………………….Graduate Research Associate, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Education Cognate Areas: Drama in Education, Transformative Education, and Discourse Analysis vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract...........................................................................................................................ii Dedication......................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................... v Vita ................................................................................................................................vi List of Tables.................................................................................................................xi Chapters: Preface ............................................................................................................................ 1 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 4 1.1. Holistic Education – Its Beginning and Evolution........................................... 5 1.2. Philosophies, Theories, and Worldviews Underlying Holistic Education ....... 8 1.3. Definitions of Holistic Education................................................................... 13 1.4. Purpose of this Dissertation............................................................................ 19 1.5. Mode of Inquiry.............................................................................................. 21 1.5.1. The Selection of Holistic Pedagogical Practices ................................. 26 1.5.2. Method of Analysis ............................................................................. 28 1.6. The Interpretative Nature of this Study.......................................................... 33 1.7. Definitions of Terms....................................................................................... 34 1.8. Chapters Organization.................................................................................... 36 2. School Movements with Holistic Pedagogical Practices ....................................... 37 2.1. The Homeschooling Movement .................................................................... 38 2.2. Democratic/Free Schools............................................................................... 40 2.3. Open Schools................................................................................................. 42 2.4. Quaker/Friends Schools................................................................................. 43 2.5. Krishnamurti Schools .................................................................................... 45 vii 2.6. KPM Schools................................................................................................. 47 2.7. The Robert Muller Schools ........................................................................... 49 2.8. Selecting the School Movements .................................................................. 51 2.8.1. Waldorf Schools ................................................................................. 56 2.8.2. Montessori Schools ............................................................................ 61 2.8.3. Neohumanist Schools ......................................................................... 66 2.8.4. Reggio Emilia Schools ....................................................................... 70 3. The Four Spiritual/Holistic-based Principles and their Pedagogical Application- Spirituality, Reverence for Life/Nature, Interconnectedness, and Human Wholeness.............................................................................................................. 75 3.1. Human Spirituality ........................................................................................ 77 3.1.1. The Principle of Human Spirituality in the Four School Systems ..... 81 3.1.1.1. Waldorf Schools................................................................... 82 3.1.1.2. Montessori Schools.............................................................. 84 3.1.1.3. NHE Schools........................................................................ 86 3.1.2. Pedagogical Features that Foster Human Spirituality........................ 88 3.1.2.1. Development of Morality..................................................... 88 3.1.2.2. The Arts ............................................................................... 89 3.1.2.3. Meditation and/or Religion.................................................. 91 3.1.3. Evaluative Summary ......................................................................... 93 3.2. Reverence for Life/Nature............................................................................ 96 3.2.1. The Principle of Reverence for Life/Nature in the Four School Systems ............................................................................................. 97 3.2.2. Pedagogical Features that Foster Reverence for Life/Nature ........... 99 3.2.2.1. Earth Connection .............................................................. 100 3.2.2.2. Environmental Education.................................................. 102 3.2.2.3. Cosmic Awareness...........................................................