Alanus University brings Waldorf Education Master’s Program to China

International degree program strengthens Waldorf education through practice-oriented teacher training

Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Alfter near Bonn is opening up new horizons for teacher education: In cooperation with the “China Waldorf Forum” (CWF), an international Master’s program in Waldorf education will start in the fall semester of 2025. The aim of the three-year program is to train aspiring and practicing teachers from China and Hong Kong at the highest level and to sustainably strengthen the global development of Waldorf education.

The program combines in-person modules in China and Germany with digital formats and artistic courses. Twice a year, students come together for two to three weeks, in January/February and in July/August, alternating between the two locations. Online events take place on the weekends in between. While new educators learn the foundations of Waldorf education and qualify to teach at Waldorf schools, experienced teachers develop their own research-based areas of focus.

The program began this summer with an intensive block in Anren near Chengdu in southwestern China. Over the course of three weeks, 32 students worked with professors from Alanus University, including Melaine McDonald (eurythmy), Dirk Rohde (biology and chemistry), Jost Schieren (educational anthropology), and Martyn Rawson (curriculum), who was appointed Professor of Waldorf Education in an International Context specifically for this degree program. Support also came from guest lecturer Julian Thomson from New Zealand, an expert in geology and geography. At the same time, together with more than 200 Waldorf teachers from across China, the Master’s students deepened their foundational subject-didactic knowledge in an upper school course. “The future of Waldorf education will be shaped significantly by its international development,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Jost Schieren, Dean of the Department of Educational Sciences and co-initiator of the project. “Since its founding, this pedagogy has been conceived as open to the world. That is where its global humanistic value lies. Our goal is to integrate precisely this core concern into our degree programs through international cooperation.”

The internationalization of Alanus University does not end in Anren/Chengdu. Also starting in the fall semester is a joint Bachelor’s degree program in “Art-Education-Therapy” with Lishui University. In addition, the “International Campus Waldorf,” founded in 2020, offers free English-language online lectures every year. The next series, titled “How … is Waldorf?” begins on September 30, 2025, and addresses topics such as interculturality, diversity, globalization, and working with parents.

Further information: www.alanus.edu/waldorf-pedagogy-master

Contact for press inquiries:
+49 (0)2222 9321-1944
presse@alanus.edu

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