Waldorf education (also called Steiner education) is a world-wide system of education based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, whose theory of child development, based on his anthroposophical view of the human being, considers child development as a process of the child's soul and spirit incarnating into a developing living, physical organism. Waldorf schools strive for a balance of practical activities, arts and academic work, whereby the emphasis shifts from the practical (especially in early childhood) to the academic over the course of the education; spiritual values are central both to the curriculum and to the training of teachers.
Waldorf education is practiced in more than 900 established independent private Waldorf schools located in about sixty different countries throughout the world; in "Waldorf-method" government funded schools; in home schooling environments; and in special education.