A case study. Transition in a Waldorf school in São Paulo, Brazil: a process under construction

Abstract

The chapter reports experiences of evaluations and follow-up of children transitioning from early childhood education into the first grade of a Waldorf elementary school located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The study analyses the institutional strategies used to enable the school’s transitional process for 6 to 8 year-old children, according to the current educational policy of the country. It presents the fundamentals of the Waldorf pedagogy, emphasising activities developed in early childhood education and the relationship between the maturity level of sensory-motor skills, cognitive, and social and emotional aspects and the formal learning process according to the Waldorf pedagogy. One section of the chapter explains the experiences of assessment and monitoring of all students in transition undertaken at the Waldorf Rudolf Steiner School since 2012. Next, the national law regarding the transition between early childhood and elementary education is discussed, as well as its impact in the kindergartens and Brazilian Waldorf schools. The chapter highlights the importance of expanding the discussion about the social and emotional maturity levels of children’s development in educational institutions and in society in general.