Learning from the intangible : How can learning based on the three pedagogical principles of Integral Education be assessed?

Today, schools wanting to work with Integral Education are caught between security that the traditional system of social reproduction offers parents and children, and the universal needs of a new global education for human change that is trying to emerge. This pull between the expectations of the past and the aspirations of the future, gives little scope for deepening in the present. This dilemma can be observed in Auroville, International township in South India, created for the purpose of experimentation in collective process working for human unity and sustainability. To define the underlying foundations of Integral Education , give clear visibility of its purpose and implementation in TLC, thereby identifying perimeters through which it can be assessed. The following questions are used to answer to the aims of the research: How can Integral Education respond to the universal needs of human change through transformational educational leadership (of facilitators/parents/children) in everyday work with children? How can an education with the aim of individual development and growth be assessed? How can the pedagogical principles of an Integral Education be made visible to gain recognition? The study was done through analysis of filmed material and reflective interviews gathered during an entire school year in one of Auroville’s schools - The Learning Community (TLC). The data collected, was analysed and discussed through a hermeneutic approach, using a three step chain of inference, involving children, parents and teachers, to process the material. The results showed that Integral learning is indeed very tangible, made visible through the pedagogical core areas in the TLC approach and methodology, and exemplified through manifestations that can be observed, and results seen through process over time. It showed that educational leadership is a key both to understanding Integral Education, and working towards recognition based on deeper connection to the practice and its universal intentions