Doctorate at Alanus University successfully completed

Doctoral scholarship holder conducted research on educational equity

At Alanus University, Larissa Beckel, a scholarship holder at the Graduate School of Waldorf Education, was awarded her doctorate for her research on educational equity. As part of her dissertation entitled ‘I Don’t Want to Become a Fairy Tale’. Educational Experiences of Refugee Adolescents at a Waldorf School, Beckel conducted numerous interviews with nine refugee students at a Waldorf school and documented their experiences with the German education system. The findings show that, thanks to their holistic pedagogical approach, Waldorf schools offer good conditions for providing children and young people with equal opportunities in school education. The insights from the study provide inspiration for (Waldorf) educational practice and help schools develop greater diversity.

Refugee young people “do not want to be stylized as an ‘integration success story’”

“Educational advancement and the opportunities for participation that open up as a result are still closely linked to the social background of parents in Germany,” Beckel explains, outlining the thematic context of her work. This means that children and young people with a migration background in particular face a high risk of being disadvantaged in the education system, the doctoral candidate continues. Individual pedagogical support for young people at Waldorf schools can effectively counteract this. This is the conclusion reached by Beckel, who accompanied nine refugee adolescents in their everyday school life at a Waldorf school and asked them about their educational experiences. What became particularly clear to Beckel during the study was this: “The young people want the chance to live a ‘normal’ life and do not want to be stylized as an ‘integration success story’.” Yet the asylum and education systems, as well as societal discourses, repeatedly remind them that they are not “normal,” Beckel adds. With her research findings, the doctoral candidate shows that individualized pedagogy and a multiprofessional, diverse team help to support the young people more effectively. Schools can therefore not only become more diverse, but school culture as a whole can also become more open. Beckel hopes that her findings will be taken as inspiration in educational practice in order to develop schools and teaching into places of equal opportunity.

Research findings provide inspiration for educational science and Waldorf education

Axel Föller-Mancini, Professor of Qualitative Methods in Educational Research at Alanus University and Beckel’s doctoral supervisor, emphasizes the importance of the research findings for successful educational support for young people who have fled to Germany: “Here, the structural potential of a supporting educational institution is exemplified through individual case analyses.” Beckel’s doctorate also makes an important contribution to both scholarship and Waldorf educational practice, says Wolfgang Nieke, Professor at the Institute of General Education and Social Pedagogy at the University of Rostock. Jost Schieren, Professor of School Pedagogy with a focus on Waldorf education at Alanus University and head of the Graduate School of Waldorf Education, sees Beckel’s dissertation as an important contribution to raising awareness of diversity at Waldorf schools. “I am pleased that we at the Graduate School were able to support Ms. Beckel’s important project,” Schieren emphasizes.

The Graduate School of Waldorf Education at Alanus University was founded in 2015 and supports doctoral projects that scientifically examine pedagogical practice at Waldorf schools in particular. The Graduate School is funded by the Software AG – Stiftung, the Educational Research Unit at the Federation of Free Waldorf Schools, and the Stockmar company.