New Publication: Individuation as an Educational Process
Foundational work on Waldorf education

Individuation as an Educational Process – Foundational work on Waldorf education

The idea that education should focus on the individual person is not a new one. But what does it mean to consistently understand individual development as the foundation of education? This question is the focus of the new edited volume “Individuation as an Educational Process. Perspectives on Rudolf Steiner’s Understanding of the Self.” The publication was edited by Prof. Dr. M. Michael Zech and Prof. Dr. Jost Schieren of Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Alfter near Bonn, together with Dr. Constanza Kaliks, Head of the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. The book has been published by Info3 Verlag in Frankfurt.

At its core is an understanding of the self that does not assume a finished or completed personality. Rather, individuation is described as a lifelong educational process: people continually develop their individuality by engaging with themselves, with other people, and with the world. Education thus appears not merely as the transmission of knowledge, but as the development of independence, judgment, and inner freedom.

Contributions from educational science, philosophy, anthroposophy, Waldorf education, and anthropology explore Rudolf Steiner’s understanding of the self from various perspectives. They examine how personal development and social responsibility are connected and what significance this has for contemporary educational practice. The edited volume also opens up international perspectives: contributions from China, South Africa, Taiwan, and the USA, among others, expand the discussion beyond European horizons of thought and experience. They show how questions of individuality and human development are taken up and advanced in different cultural contexts.

“Particularly in the age of artificial intelligence, it becomes clear that education must be more than information processing,” says editor Prof. Dr. M. Michael Zech. “Individuation as an educational process means taking hold of one’s own thinking, relating oneself to the world, and maturing into a self-determined personality.” The authors include Ulrich Kaiser, Axel Ziemke, Rita Schumacher, and Albert Schmelzer, among others. The volume is aimed at professionals in education, educational science, and philosophy, as well as anyone concerned with questions of human development and a contemporary understanding of education.

Bibliographic information:

Michael Zech, Constanza Kaliks, Jost Schieren (eds.): Individuation as an Educational Process. Perspectives on Rudolf Steiner’s Understanding of the Self.
Info3 Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1st edition 2026
Hardcover with thread stitching, 528 pages, 38 euros
ISBN 978-3-95779-248-8

About the authors:

• Dr. M. Michael Zech, born in Munich in 1957. Waldorf teacher, Professor of Cultural Studies and Their Didactics at Alanus University in Alfter.
• Dr. phil. Constanza Kaliks serves in the leadership of the Pedagogical Section (Department of Education) of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum in Switzerland.
• Dr. Jost Schieren is Professor of School Education with a focus on Waldorf education and Dean of the Department of Educational Science at Alanus University in Alfter.

Save the date: On the occasion of the book’s publication, Alanus University invites you from 19 to 21 November 2026 to the conference “Individuation as an Educational Process. Impulses for an Education of the Future”.

Press contact:
+49 (0)2222 9321-1944
presse@alanus.edu