Educating soul capacities: Empowering Waldorf educators through transformative learning

Waldorf Education explicitly addresses the challenge of educating whole human beings. An essential aspect of this education involves holding a complete image of the whole human being and understanding the development of a healthy constellation of soul capacities within this image: clear, confident thinking; balanced, compassionate feeling; and strong, conscience-filled acts of will. This development can best be stimulated by teachers who embody these same capacities. The purpose of the research study done within the context of an Integral Inquiry, was to discern the capacities of soul required for teaching well in a Waldorf educational setting.; Within this qualitative inquiry, the foundational task of articulating the spiritual nature of the human soul was undertaken. A comprehensive understanding of the phenomena of the soul can be found in the spiritual scientific research conducted and reported by the 20th century Austrian philosopher and scientist, Rudolf Steiner. This knowledge provided the context for a Delphi Study. This methodology was used to gather a focused agreement on these soul capacities and their development from a mutually selected group of master teachers in the Waldorf School movement in North America. There was a high degree of agreement among the master Waldorf teachers on the needed soul capacities within the aspects of thinking, feeling, and willing.; The processes of educating the relevant soul capacities are considered in relation to the theory and practice of transformative learning. The adult learning activities in Waldorf teacher education are seen as examples of soul transformation. Implications for further research and dialogue include relationships to Transformative Learning Theory, Developmental, and Transpersonal Psychology.