Rudolf Steiner and Emmi Pikler on The Education of Very Young Children - The Aesthetics of Care in the Development of Children Aged 0 to 3 years

Foreword by Angela Scalabrin Coutinho

This book aims to gain an understanding of the development of children aged 0 to 3 years from the perspective of Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf Pedagogy, and Emmi Pikler, pediatrician and founder of the Pikler-Lóczy Institute. The importance of each of these pedagogical approaches is highlighted in the sense of contributing to rethinking early childhood education concepts and practices aimed at developing the sensitive perception of caregivers and teachers of very young children. Aesthetics in caring and educating involves the human capacity to come together with children and to perceive oneself as being in the world in its entirety. Reception in early childhood education with respect for the child’s time and space also makes it possible to embrace the teacher’s own identity and raise awareness of their listening, words and gestures. Aesthetic care and education can be seen as an indispensable part of quality care for very young children. 

FELICIA SIEMSEN

Felicia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Artistic Education from the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado, São Paulo, Brazil, and has postgraduate specialization in Waldorf Pedagogy, Floria nópolis. She is also a Bachelor of Pedagogy from the Centro Universitário Claretiano, Curitiba. She was a teacher of very young children at the Turmalina Waldorf School, Curitiba, between 2007 and 2018. She is a pedagogical tutor for Waldorf kindergartens and a teacher on teacher training courses using Rudolf Steiner’s pedagogical approach. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education (2022) and is a Ph.D. student at the Universidade Federal do Paraná Post graduate Program in Education, dedicating herself to the areas of Early Childhood, Early Childhood Education, Aesthetics and Human Development. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3230-9462. Research funded by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), No. 88887.552043/2020-00, - CAPES-PRINT Sandwich Doctorate Grant No. 88887.892289/2023-00.

TANIA STOLTZ

Tania holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Pedagogy from the Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná and a Bachelor’s Degree in Artistic Education from the Faculdade de Educação Musical do Paraná. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education from the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR). She has a Ph.D. in Education (Educational Psychology) from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. She did postdoctoral research at the Archives Jean Piaget, Swit zerland postdoctoral research at Alanus Hochschule, Germany and postdoctoral research at Witten-Herdecke University, Germany. She is a full Professor at the Universidade Federal do Paraná. She has been the coordinator of the scientific cooperation agreement between the UFPR and Alanus University in Alfter, Bonn (Germany) since 2008. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9132-0514. Research funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) – Research Productivity Grants No. 301497/2022-2, - CAPES-PRINT Postdoctoral Scholarship Grant No. 88887.760983/2022-00.