Adopting and Adapting Waldorf Education: Returning to the Roots Through Waldorf Education in Kenya

This chapter looks at the adaptation of Waldorf education to fit the local context of Kenya and how local teachers adopt Waldorf education to fit the needs of their learners. Based on 22 semi-structured interviews with East African Waldorf teachers, all of whom were trained in Kenya and the majority of whom work with them, we see that Waldorf education is presented as a way to return to precolonial education and as a way to preserve local culture. We argue that in the Kenyan context, despite the European roots of Waldorf education, it is positioned and often appeals to Kenyan teachers as an alternative to the standard (post)colonial Western schooling as it draws on ideas that are similar to “traditional” indigenous educational traditions. Although Waldorf pedagogy comes from abroad and is taught by trainers coming from Germany and South Africa, local Waldorf teachers distinguish themselves from mainstream state pedagogy that is standardised, competitive, and Western and that focuses on the similarities of Waldorf and “traditional” ways of knowing. At the same time, teachers are concerned with the totality of anthroposophy encompassing all aspects of life, including the spiritual development of teachers. As a result, many teachers distance themselves from this movement.