Maria Keller Birnbaum
NORENSE funding: 37.000 NOK in 2017 (25.000 for writing the article and 12.000 for translation to English)

Background and motivation
Eurythmy and remedial eurythmy, practised in Steiner schools for almost a century, would benefit from the further development of a supporting theoretical framework and the understanding of eurythmy´s function in a school context.

Research questions
How can we understand the role movement and movement training plays in the developing child?
The significance of movement in the three spatial dimensions – how does movement in a particular spatial direction relate to the evolving of specific inner faculties in a child?

Sources, methods and theoretical perspectives
In Behold the Child (Keller Birnbaum, 2010) assessment methods employed in a remedial eurythmy practice within a Steiner school was evaluated. Through progressive focusing and Grounded Theory the emphasis was put on discovering which active reflexes had been retained by 29 students with difficulties in concentration, reading and writing deficiencies or emotional problems. The method of observing early childhood developmental movements together with the performance of eurythmical vowel and consonant movements showed itself to be a suitable foundation on which individual movement programs could be designed. The study The Horse and Rider (Keller Birnbaum, 2016) evaluated movement programs created for and practised by six children with neuropsychiatric diagnoses such as dyslexia, ADHD and Autism. The interventions were followed up through observation and interviews with teachers, parents and the children themselves. Specific learning difficulties were found to correspond to the appearance of retained reflex movements in a specific spatial dimension. Problems with reading and writing proved to be associated with retained reflexes uin the lateral dimension, difficulties in concentration with the sagittal and emotional problems with the vertical. Remedial interventions performed in the corresponding dimensions proved helpful for the child. The link between movements in one spatial dimension and the development of specific learning prerequisites is discussed in the light of psychological and educational theories.

Intended form of publication
The article is intended to be published in a peer-reviewed journal such as RoSE and in a relevant popular journal such as På Väg and Balder.

Publications
Keller Birnbaum, Maria. (2010). Behold the child – An evaluative case study of assessment methods used within a remedial eurythmy practice in a Steiner school. (Master), University of Plymouth, Plymouth.
Keller Birnbaum, Maria (2011). En pedagogisk läs – och skrivutredning med förslag till åtgärder En fördjupad fallstudie av Lisa 9 år. Stockholms universitet, Stockholm.
Keller Birnbaum, Maria (2016). Specialpedagogik, kunskapssyn och sinneslära, i Granstedt, Pär (Red.) Kunskap utan gränser Antroposofisk och jämförande kunskapsteori. Järna: Kosmos förlag.