ABSTRACT
In the first two decades of the 21st century, Waldorf pedagogy in Spain has achieved its greatest expansion in history. Nowadays, there are more Waldorf schools than ever in nearly every region of the country. This chapter analyses the process by which Waldorf pedagogy was deployed in Spain. For a detailed analysis of the implementation of this educational model in the country, it is considered fundamental to attend to the late reception of Steiner’s ideas on education as well as to the contextual elements that fostered this particular phenomenon. Three fundamental aspects form the structure of this chapter. The first section discusses the current implementation of Waldorf pedagogy as featured in public and academic discourse. The second section explores the complexity of fitting the esoteric underpinnings of Steiner’s theory of education into a country with a markedly Catholic tradition such as Spain. Finally, the last section analyses how Waldorf pedagogy has become an alternative form of education that is gaining in presence among certain segments of the population of Spain because of how it responds to the specific demands of families today.
