Rudolf Steiner University College, Norway (RSUC)

NORENSE funding: 200.000 NOK in 2016

Objectives for the project The RSUC institutional development project, Waldorf Teacher Education 2017, aims at developing an updated and contemporary teacher education based on core ideas, practices and values within Steiner Waldorf Education. This teacher education programme will provide relevant knowledge, skills and competences required for teaching in Waldorf schools, and aims at the same time to provide qualifications for employment in public schools.

Subproject 1 – Waldorf teacher education 2017
The current three year, bachelor degree Waldorf teacher education programme at RSUC contains three subject groups: 1) Pedagogy and student knowledge, 2) Language and social studies and 3) Mathematics and natural science, each comprising 60 ECTS). Arts are integrated into all subject groups. From 2017, all mainstream teacher education in Norway will have a duration of five years and be at a master’s level. The plan for the new teacher education at RSUC is to deliver the three first years as a Waldorf educational programme with emphasis on age-appropriate teaching, Waldorf educational didactics and other relevant Waldorf educational topics. The two subsequent master years will be given in collaboration with a state university college. A challenge will be to find the right balance between the wide array of Waldorf topics and the required credit points to be taken in one school subject. The aim of this subproject is to develop specific models and plans for establishing this new combined, five year, teacher education programme from 2017. The project will be based on the current Waldorf teacher education at RSUC, as well as the results of subproject 2 and 3.

Subproject 2 – what are the right Waldorf educational qualifications now
Which educational knowledges, skills and competencies are required in today’s Waldorf schools? How should a Waldorf teacher training relate to the qualification requirements given in the upcoming curriculum for a mainstream teacher education at the master’s level? These questions will be discussed with all stakeholders within the Waldorf school movement in Norway; parents, teachers, school leaders, the federations, teacher students and RSUC lecturers. Subproject 2 aims at providing good and mutually accepted guidelines for outlining a set of appropriate knowledges, skills and competences for Norwegian Waldorf teachers. Based on this work, a collection of arguments will be formed that can be used in further negotiations with the authorities to ensure alternative requirements for employment and school provision for Norwegian Waldorf schools in the future.

Subproject 3: how to build up teaching qualifications in mainstream schools?
This project will investigate various models of extending the existing Waldorf teacher education programme at RSUC (bachelor’s degree) in such a way that it can lead to qualifications for employment and teaching in Waldorf schools as well as in public schools. RSUC has been in contact with The Norwegian Educational Ministry on this matter, likewise with Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA) (the largest provider of teacher education in Norway). There is already established a good basis for cooperation on different possible models with HiOA. A suitable model must ensure that students can acquire the required credit points in the main subjects Norwegian, English and Mathematics. The teacher education at RSUC is structured differently than mainstream teacher education programmes, with a wider scope of topics compared to the emphasis given to single school subjects in mainstream teacher education. A good model for integration must be found.

Project organisation
The project group consists of school leaders in Waldorf schools, a social scientist, students and lectures at the RSUC and the project leaders, who both have previous experience of such work. The project gets its mandate from a steering committee and regularly reports to it. The steering committee consists of the chairmen at RSUC, at The Norwegian Waldorf Federation and at The Association of Waldorf Parents.

Project owner
RSUC and The Norwegian Waldorf Federation are the project’s owners.

Outcome
The new 5-year master degree teacher education was recognised as a joint degree between RSUC and OsloMet, and started with its first group of students autumn 2019.