ABSTRACT
The Waldorf curriculum is rather a diffuse object of examination, not only because Waldorf education is rooted in Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy and because of the schools’ heterogeneous pedagogical practice, but also because it does not aim at particular standards but at heterogeneous and individualized application. This chapter describes and examines Steiner's specific definition of the Waldorf curriculum with regard to the self-image, genesis, challenges, and perspectives of Waldorf schools, which differs both from curricular teaching programs and from competence-oriented educational programs. The way Waldorf schools understand curriculum is closely linked to the notion of teacher autonomy and collegially governed schools that arises from Steiner's principle of freedom of teaching and individual ethics. Up until the 1990s, the Waldorf curriculum served as an orientational tool that was seen as ideal-typical. Up until 2008, curriculum development in Waldorf schools had taken little notice of the curricular discourses in education science in general.
