The Pilot Study: First Findings and Further Steps
Over the year, we have developed and kept refining our online, multilingual survey platform to proceed with our research Resilience and Pedagogy – now available in German, English, Spanish, and Chinese, with Portuguese and Dutch soon to follow thanks to the support of colleagues in Brazil and the Netherlands. With this platform in place, we launched our pilot survey and were delighted to receive participation from Waldorf teachers across the globe. Teachers generously open a window into their classrooms, offering honest reflections on how their students are navigating today’s challenges, what is supporting them, and where they may be struggling.
Who is participating? A Diverse and Global Sample
The pilot study includes a broad and culturally diverse group of teachers from Waldorf schools across Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Participants are based in countries such
as Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, Estonia, France, Hungary, Mexico, Russia, Spain, the United States. They are bringing perspectives from a variety of roles – including class teachers, subject teachers, mentors, tutors, and pedagogical support staff – and from school grades ranging from early primary to upper secondary. This rich geographical variety adds depth and breadth to the insights gathered, offering a meaningful cross-cultural view of student experiences.
Highlights from the insights at our 1st wave online survey
Teachers reported a wide range of reflections in the open-ended questions, touching on academic performance and transition after graduation, wellbeing and behavior, socialization and relationships, parental and family influences, as well as school- and system-level factors. Among these themes, concerns about student wellbeing were especially prominent. Many teachers described increasing levels of anxiety, nervousness, and emotional sensitivity, and some noted that students express a subtle but growing fear of “going out into the world.”
Several educators observed that children relate more to others through virtual spaces, a shift that can undermine their confidence in direct, face-to-face interactions. Difficulties with concentration and inner quiet were also frequently mentioned, with warnings that the constant overstimulation of modern life may have serious long-term health consequences. Fatigue appeared as a recurring motif: students often seem tired. Teachers also spoke of deeper layers of stress tied to the erosion of cultural traditions, disconnection from native languages, and environmental concerns. Social relationships were another central theme.
On the one hand, teachers described students who struggle to socialize independently, relying heavily on digital communication. This can result in feelings of insecurity or isolation. On the other hand, many educators emphasized the stabilizing effect of strong human connections such as supportive teachers, understanding peers, and a caring community, which they view as essential sources of strength and resilience. School-related factors also surfaced, including demanding academic workloads, a high number of extracurricular obligations, and instability caused by frequent turnover among subject teachers. These structural pressures add to the overall complexity of students’ daily lives. Read the quotes from our respondents here.
What is coming next? We are actively working to obtain ethical approval in the Netherlands via the Ethical Committee from Maastricht University before distributing the questionnaire to minors. In the meantime, we will conduct qualitative interviews with the enrolled Waldorf teachers to gain more in-depth knowledge about the research questions with empirical insights and launch the questionnaire for Wave 2. New participants are welcome to join via the registration questionnaire embedded here on the project page.
We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all the teachers who generously took the time to complete the survey and share their experiences. We look forward to continuing the work!
Belle Leung and Jacinta Gorchs