This presentation regards a Ph.D. project that aims to contribute to knowledge and understanding of whole-child education by asking the research question “What does it mean to educate the whole child?”.

The project analyses the curricula of four school systems at primary and lower secondary levels found within Norway. This is Norwegian public education, Montessori education, Steiner/Waldorf education, and International Baccalaureate education (IB). Also, interviews with teachers in the respective school systems will be conducted to gain an understanding of their notions of what it means to educate the whole child.

The research’s preliminary results show similarities and differences in what “educating the whole child” means. A common theme is a focus on well-being in all development domains. Related to this year’s ECER conference theme of diversity, it is relevant that all four school systems emphasize diversity as a foundational value in their educational models. Other common values among the four school systems are democratic values like equal rights, participation, and inclusion.

In a European and international context, the research is relevant as Montessori, Steiner (Waldorf), and International Baccalaureate education are present in many countries and the Norwegian public education system is part of the North-European pedagogics tradition.

The project’s theoretical framework is based on the field of holistic education. This field has emerged since the mid-1980s (Miller 2019a, p. 5), and the topic of holistic education engages globally. The field of holistic education is an eclectic and inclusive field with impulses from many sources (Rudge 2008, p. 4) and is seen as very diverse (Forbes 2003, p. 2). There is no textbook definition of what a holistic education is (Miller 1997, p. 75). It can be seen as an umbrella term covering different approaches and perspectives (Schreiner 2009, p. 755, 761). According to Rudge (2008, p. 21), many educational alternatives are calling themselves holistic, but a clear definition of what educating the whole child means is often missing.

In reviewing literature for an overview of current research status, many journal articles use the term “whole child”, but mostly concern topics related to physical health or community services for supporting children. Arguments for this type of “whole child” approach is that there is evidence of physical activity reducing obesity, and diabetes, and improving academic performance and cognitive functioning (Savina et. al 2016, pp. 283-286). The literature from the field of holistic education making up the theoretical framework of this project offers a broader view of the “whole child”. One statement exemplifying this position holds that holistic education “addresses every aspect of individual growth and development” (Eaude 2019, p. 61).

This project synthesizes the different definitions and descriptions of whole-child education in the literature of the theoretical framework into four different theoretical perspectives. These are used as categories supporting the analysis of curriculum documents and interviews. The four perspectives are “the whole child”, “the whole world”, “personal growth” and “social change”. The perspectives are recognizable in all the literature to a greater or lesser extent. They are outspoken and discussed in the main literature of the theoretical framework, but also present in the supporting literature from the field of holistic education.
Although the field is eclectic and has many sources of influence it also draws on known educators and philosophers. Often mentioned as historical influences are Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel, Montessori, Steiner, and Dewey, amongst others (Miller, 2019a, pp. 5-16, R. Miller 1997, pp. 92-101, Mayes 2019, p. 143).

The different curricula analyzed in this project do indicate a concern for the whole child, although different emphases amongst the different school systems. This will be described in the conclusion section below.

This project is based on an interpretive qualitative paradigm and uses document analysis of curriculum documents and interviews of teachers as the main research methods. The philosophy of science inspiring the interpretative approach is Gadamer’s (2004) philosophical hermeneutics. Rather than describing a research method, Gadamer emphasizes an interpretative “modus operandi” when the researcher is reading and analyzing text. In addition, Alvesson and Sköldberg’s (2009, pp. 91-104) model of a hermeneutic research process is guiding the method of textual analysis. This model includes Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics, but also Betti’s (1967) hermeneutic canons, and Ricoeur’s (1988) hermeneutics of suspicion amongst others (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2009, p. 107). The document analysis was conducted by reading and re-reading the documents one by one, locating statements or pieces of text that possibly could help answer the main research question. The curriculum documents contain large amounts of text, and data reduction of findings into suitable sizes and categories for analysis was important. The reduction was done by organizing several findings thematically under broader themes. The merging of findings in themes is informed by Braun and Clarke’s (2022) thematic analysis. The theoretical perspectives synthesized from the holistic education literature are used as the main overall categories when organizing and analyzing the findings. Interviews are conducted as semi-structured focused group interviews with 4-8 teachers per group interview. One group interview is made per school system. The intention of doing interviews is to gain understanding of teacher perspectives on what it means to educate the whole child. As the study is interpretative, the statistical generalizability of interview results is not emphasized. The planning and conducting of the interviews are informed by Brinkmann and Kvale’s (2015) stages of an interview inquiry. The sampling is done within certain geographical areas in Norway where there are several schools of all four school types. Recruitment of interview participants is done via the principal/head of school and it is voluntary for the teachers to participate. The sampling aimed for a balance between teachers working on primary and lower secondary levels in the groups being interviewed. Possible challenges to the methods are that the interpretation could be seen as more focused on a “hermeneutics of empathy” rather than a “hermeneutics of suspicion”. This is because the analysis seeks to identify signs of whole child education and does not to a great extent focus on signs that points in a different direction.

The results presented at the Emerging Researchers Conference are preliminary results from a literature review and document analysis. Results of the interview analysis that are finished before the conference will also be presented. Preliminary results show that there are several ways of defining and describing the education of the “whole child”. The Norwegian public education curriculum focuses mostly on “education for all” and does not distinctly describe whole-child education. The aspect of “Bildung” is described along with social, physical, and intellectual development in the Norwegian public education curriculum, and life skills are defined as a transdisciplinary theme. In the Montessori curriculum, there is an explicit focus on the whole child and the development of the “head, heart, and hands”. Maria Montessori’s idea of “cosmic education” which is defined as the education of the whole child, the concept of “Erdkinder” – meaning “children of the earth” and the idea of education for peace indicates a holistic approach. Steiner education similarly emphasizes the education of hand, head, and heart and “education towards freedom” as a holistic formation process. Steiner education has a spiritual foundation where the child is seen as a whole being and is influenced by Steiner’s Anthroposophy. The International Baccalaureate education defines its programs as holistic, especially the lower secondary level curriculum uses the word holistic education to a certain extent. Here the focus on developing different aspects of the child, physical, social, and emotional as well as intellectual, is emphasized. A preliminary conclusion is that educating the whole child in a narrow definition concerns education for health and wellbeing in all developmental domains of the child. This includes the intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and in some instances spiritual domains. In a broader definition, it concerns the education of “all children” encompassing equality, diversity, and participation for all children.

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