The study is initiated and supported by NORENSE. The team leading the study consists of Jan-Erik Mansikka (Finland), Terje Sparby (Norway) and Leif Tjärnstig (Sweden). The study is done in collaboration with the University of Helsinki. It is funded partly by the institutions. It has received funding from NORENSE (2024, 100000 NOK) and the Pestalozzi foundation (400000 SEK). Funding will also be applied for from other foundations.

A qualitative Nordic Waldorf alumni study could provide valuable insights into how former Waldorf students in Finland, Norway and Sweden perceive and assess their time in the Waldorf School, but also how they study, work, live and contribute to society today and what traces their time in the Waldorf School has left in their current lives and careers.

Such a research project would provide a unique opportunity to gain knowledge about the social contribution of Waldorf Schools in the three Nordic countries. Norway, Sweden and Finland share many commonalities in terms of social systems, economies, history, and culture, yet each nation also possesses distinctive individual characteristics. Such an extensive quantitative Nordic alumni study would allow for comparative analyses between the three countries and provide insights that could be aligned and compared with previous international studies. Alumni surveys are frequently used to evaluate educational systems and inform school development. This study will build on the survey tools developed by Randoll & Peters (2021), adapting the questionnaire used to Nordic conditions and a comparable cohort with the same age range. Within the intended age range of the informants, this study will encompass over 30,000 people.

Aim of the study and research questions

The primary aim of the Nordic Waldorf Alumni Study is to provide knowledge about how former Waldorf pupils perceive and assess their education and what influence has their time in a Waldorf school has had on their lives today. The design of the study aims to align to the study made by Randoll & Peters (2021), but with adaptions to Nordic conditions. The objectives is to provide robust and comparable knowledge about the societal contribution of Waldorf education in the Nordic countries and to offer constructive feedback to the Waldorf community on how the pedagogical methods, approach and content are received and assessed by former Waldorf students. The cohort of informants will include former waldorf students born between 1982 and 2002.

The study is based on the questionnaire developed by Randoll & Peters (2021) but has been adapted to Nordic conditions. The questionnaire design has also been developed towards a more comprehensive and far-reaching analysis than in the original study by Randoll & Peters (2021). The following three research questions result from this development. These questions are linked to specific output-variables and areas of the questionnaire, which opens up the possibility of in-depth analyses in these areas of the study.

Research questions:

• How do former Waldorf pupils perceive and assess the strengths and weaknesses of their education and their time at a Waldorf school?
• How do former Waldorf pupils today perceive their personal quality of life, societal engagement, self-efficacy and life opportunities, in relation to their time at the Waldorf School?
• How do former Waldorf pupils view their professional life, further education and career, and how do they see the role of the Waldorf school in their life choices and opportunities?

Research design

The research design is based on a digital questionnaire that will be distributed through the Waldorf School Associations and the alumni groups associated with the Waldorf Schools in each of the three countries. The technical resources and the research infrastructure, including the SPSS software, used for questionnaire design and statistical analysis will be provided through The University of Helsinki. Expertise in statistical analysis for the review of the questionary and conducting data analysis will also be made available thought The University of Helsinki.

The second phase of the study will be a qualitative exploration of the themes and aspects that emerge from the quantitative analysis. This will include a small number of interviews from a selected group of informants. The results of this qualitative in-depth study can be a valuable complement to the quantitative analysis and could possibly be carried out by students on a Masterprogramme.

Outcomes from the research project

A number of different types of publications are planned, presenting the outcomes of the project. A first report will be produced from each participating country, mainly addressed to the Waldorf schools and the respective national school federations. The purpose of this report is to convey descriptive feedback from former pupils to the schools. This report is intended to be written in an accessible and popular way and is not intended for academic publication.

The main results presentation planned is four articles for publication in scientific journals. Each of the research questions can form the basis for a separate analysis and article. A fourth article will focus on comparative analyses between the three Nordic countries and also refer back to the original study by Randoll & Peters (2021).

The final analysis and overall conclusions of the study will be summarised in a book with the tentative title: The Social Contribution of Waldorf Schools in the Three Nordic Countries.

The form in which the qualitative results will be presented is not yet finalised.