Childhood in Transition

As has been demonstrated in many ways, children today are spending more and more time in educational institutions: starting earlier, staying longer each day, and attending more consistently throughout their lives. School is thus evolving from a limited place of learning into a central part of children’s lives. Schools are increasingly having to take on responsibilities that used to be more firmly rooted in families, neighborhoods, or community organizations—such as providing emotional stability, social guidance, health promotion, conflict resolution, and, in some cases, compensatory care.

These shifts are particularly evident in all-day schools, where the school environment is often becoming increasingly like a family. Educational relationships are becoming closer, more emotional, and more long-term; teachers are becoming key attachment figures for many children. These developments are not problematic in and of themselves. On the contrary: Warm relationships, the experience of being accepted, and emotional recognition are among the fundamental conditions for children to realize their potential.

At the same time, these shifting boundaries increase the complexity of educational work and create new challenges that require a professional response. In the school setting, the focus is always on a professional understanding of closeness and distance, of the similarities and differences among students, of responsibility and being overwhelmed, as well as of the educational and care mandates. Waldorf schools, too, are called upon to develop new spaces for peer reflection so that teachers do not, with the best of intentions but sometimes helplessly, become entangled in personal emotional conflicts—for which every Waldorf teacher bears individual responsibility. Expanded safety protocols, peer-led case studies, and shared reflections require a dedicated space and a binding framework and should continue to be consistently implemented.

School as a universe of relationships

Furthermore, it can be helpful not to conceive of educational care solely as a relationship between educators who provide it and children who receive it, but rather to focus more closely on the multifaceted web of relationships and to cultivate «cycles of appreciative care» in schools, as proposed by educational scientist Annedore Prengel: reciprocally between adults and adolescents, between peers, between professionals, and between administrators and other groups.

Waldorf schools could be understood as holistic educational institutions in the sense of a «caring community», one that also incorporates the surrounding environment into the concept of a caring community. Children should be able to experience that learning and living take place within a multifaceted network of relationships characterized by mutual connectedness, one that extends far beyond the individual school. This network of relationships must be supported and safeguarded by ethical principles. Every Waldorf school should actively agree on the foundations and methods through which mutual care, recognition, and appreciation can be established and reflected upon.

Free play as the foundation of democratic education

Research on childhood suggests that self-directed, non-institutionalized play is a central component of healthy development and enables children to experience themselves as capable and effective agents. This experience of self-efficacy is considered a fundamental prerequisite for future participation in the field of democracy education. Research findings suggest that unstructured playtime can foster social skills, self-regulation, and cooperative negotiation processes. Free play creates spaces where children make decisions, negotiate rules, and take responsibility for their actions. At the same time, the daily routines of many children show that their schedules are highly structured, leaving little room for such self-directed processes.

In international discourse, a distinction is made between free play (child-led play), adult-led play, and guided play. While guided play combines self-determination with an educational framework, democratic education places particular emphasis on free play as a space for experiencing democratic practice. Against this backdrop, the question arises as to how school settings can systematically facilitate free play as an integral part of democratic education. All-day schools offer particular potential in this regard, as they provide periods of time during which children can decide for themselves with whom and how they play, thereby gaining experiences of democratic action in their everyday lives. For children with special educational needs in particular, this represents an important form of active participation.

In educational practice, this means consciously and consistently incorporating free play into the daily school routine. Adults create the framework, provide the space and materials, and support the processes without dictating decisions. Free play is thus not merely a form of recess, but a central space for learning and experiencing democratic education: Children exercise self-determination, negotiate rules, and learn that their actions have an impact. In this way, free play becomes a fundamental element of democratic educational practice.