Education for Special Needs
Principles and Practice in Camphill Schools
by Henning Hansmann

Education for special needs in the Camphill movement uses an approach which can be described as "curative education." This is a method which attempts to treat children with intellectual and sensory handicaps or nervous and emotional disturbances, through predominantly educational means. The overall approach and methodology is based on an adaptation of Rudolf Steiner’s comprehensive system of Waldorf education but also draws on insights from psychiatry, paediatrics, psychology and sociology.

This book looks at the underlying principles of Steiner's approach to education and how the educational curriculum of the Waldorf Schools is adapted to the special needs of the handicapped. It describes the features of community life at Camphill Schools and how these cater for a wide variety of developmental and educational needs. Studies of individual pupils and their circumstances are provided and are examined from both administrative and educational standpoints. The book is an account of many years' experience of an approach to caring which is both spiritual and therapeutic.

Hansmann's book provides not only a concise and clear description of an important therapeutic movement in the care of the handicapped, but also an inspiring picture of the daily life and the development of pupils in the Camphill Community.

Floris Books
189pp; paperback
ISBN: 0 86315 138 8
Price: £14.99

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