One hundred years after Rudolf Steiner presented his Supportive Education Course, its impulses continue to inspire educators, therapists, caregivers and communities around the world. More than a historical document, the course remains a living workbook – an enduring source for the development of a truly human, dialogical and inclusive approach to education and care.

In this collaborative volume, a distinguished group of authors explores the contemporary relevance of Steiner’s insights and their significance for the future of supportive or special education. Rather than treating the lectures as fixed teachings of the past, the contributors engage with Steiner’s method of observation, his profound interest in the individuality of each child, and his search for educational practices grounded in understanding, relationship and responsibility.

Set against the historical background of the Supportive Education Course and informed by present-day experience, this rich collection of essays examines how its impulses can continue to evolve in response to the challenges of our time. The book invites readers to enter into a living dialogue with Steiner’s work and to discover new possibilities for developing a personal and communal science and art of supportive education.

A Continuous, Living Connection is both a centennial reflection and a forward-looking contribution to the ongoing renewal of inclusive educational practice.

AN C. GOESCHEL is head of the Section for Inclusive Social Development at the Goetheanum’s School of Spiritual Science. He holds an MA (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh, an MA in Educational Leadership with a teaching qualification in special education from Immaculata University, and a doctorate in Supportive Education and Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of Cologne. He has also completed professional trainings in Waldorf education, anthroposophical supportive education, and Spacial Dynamics. A long-standing member of the Camphill Movement in North America, he has served as a classroom teacher at the Camphill School in Pennsylvania and as Director of the Camphill Academy, where he led professional education and training programmes.

RÜDIGER GRIMM trained as a supportive educator at the Camphill Seminar on Lake Constance, Germany, and studied Waldorf education at the Seminar for Waldorf Education in Stuttgart. He subsequently pursued studies in general and special education and earned a doctorate in educational sciences. From 1971 to 1995, he was an active member of the Camphill Movement in Germany. He later served as Secretary of the Curative Education and Social Therapy Council at the Goetheanum in Dornach from 1995 to 2017 and was Professor of Supportive Education at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Bonn from 2009 to 2019. Grimm has contributed to numerous working and research groups and is the author of publications on supportive education and social issues.