Transition experiences of pupils who completed Waldorf primary education to state secondary schools

Waldorfska škola temelji se na načelima antropozofije, znanosti o duhu i tijelu koju je osmislio Rudolf Steiner, također osnivač prve waldorfske škole u svijetu. Waldorfska se pedagogija, s antropozofijom kao temeljem, bavi razvojem duše, duha i tijela pojedinca kako bi ta suštinska saznanja iskoristila za stvaranje školskog ozračja koje je prilagođeno za djecu i dječje potrebe u različitim fazama razvoja. Tako su waldorfske škole usmjerene na individualno pristupanje svakom učeniku i prilagođavanje nastavnog plana i programa, zadataka, sadržaja i pristupa svakom djetetu. Cilj je poticanje jakih strana učenika i motiviranje učenika da uče na one načine koji su njima lakši, poznatiji i prirodniji. Smatra se da na taj način učitelji reagiraju na prirodan tijek razvoja svakog pojedinca bez nametanja svojih ideala. U waldorfskoj se školi od prvog razreda pridaje velika pažnja umjetničkom izražavanju na nastavi. Svi predmeti ostavljaju prostor za umjetničko izražavanje kroz crtanje, slikanje, pokret, glas i ples. Umjetnost na svim razinama i razvijanje raznih osjetila smatraju se izrazito važnima za razvoj dječje kreativnosti, samostalnosti i snalažljivosti. Učenici razvijaju svoje znanje kroz učenje po epohama koje im daje mogućnost intenzivnijeg obrađivanja sadržaja, a ocijene dobivaju u opisnom obliku te na taj način uspijevaju jasnije razumjeti vlastite pogreške ili napredak. Učenici u waldorfskim školama naučeni su na izrazito blizak odnos sa svojim učiteljima. Učitelji individualno pristupaju svakom učeniku i vrlo dobro poznaju njegove jake i slabe strane. Učitelji su aktivno uključeni i u privatan život učenika i to kroz intenzivnu suradnju i partnerstvo s roditeljima. Pri prelasku u državne srednje škole učenici waldorfskih škola doživljavaju velike promjene. S obzirom da u Hrvatskoj trenutno ne postoji srednja waldorfska škola, ovakav scenarij nagle promjene nemoguće je izbjeći. Kada takvoj situaciji dodamo i činjenicu da je period tranzicije sam po sebi izrazito stresan i često naporan, možemo pretpostaviti da je djeci koja dolaze iz waldorfskih škola ta situacija tranzicije još više ispunjena stresom te još zahtjevnija u smislu prilagodbe na sve novo što ih očekuje u državnim školama. Cilj ovog rada je istražiti koliko je taj period tranzicije stresan i težak za učenike waldorfskih škola te što oni vide kao pozitivne i negativne strane pohađanja waldorfske škole u odnosu na obrazovanje u državnim školama.The Waldorf school is based on the principles of anthroposophy, a science of mind and body designed by Rudolf Steiner, also the founder of the first Waldorf school in the world. Waldorf pedagogy, with anthroposophy as its foundation, deals with the development of soul, spirit and body of the individual, in order to use this essential knowledge to create a school environment that is ideally suited for children and children's needs at different stages of development. Thus, Waldorf schools are focused on approaching each student individually and adapting the curriculum, tasks, content and approach to each child individually. The goal is to encourage students' strengths and motivate students to learn in ways that are easier, more familiar and natural to them. In this way, teachers are thought to respond to the natural course of development of each individual without imposing their ideals. At the Waldorf school, since the first grade, great attention is paid to artistic expression in teaching. All school subjects leave room in their curriculum for artistic expression through drawing, painting, movement, voice and dance. The arts at all levels and the development of various senses are considered extremely important for the development of children's creativity, independence and resourcefulness. Students are also taught to learn by epochs, which gives them the opportunity to process content more intensively, and they receive their grades in a descriptive way, thus understanding their mistakes or progress more clearly. Students in Waldorf schools are taught to have a very close relationship with their teachers. Teachers approach each student individually and are very familiar with all their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers are also actively involved in students' private lives through intense collaboration and partnership with parents. When moving to public high schools, students from Waldorf schools are experiencing major changes. Given that there is currently no Waldorf high school in Croatia, such a scenario of sudden change is impossible to avoid. When we add to this situation the fact that the transition period itself is extremely stressful and often strenuous, we can conclude that for the children coming from Waldorf schools, this transition is even more filled with stress and is even more demanding in terms of adjusting to everything new they will be facing in public schools. The aim of this paper is to investigate how stressful and difficult this transition period really is for students coming from Waldorf schools and what they see as positive and negative sides of attending waldorf schools in relation to education in mainstream public schools