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This article seeks to identify trends in Steiner Waldorf education through the lens of Clarence Beeby's work on educational myths. Beeby calls myths a form of communication between contemporaries or between generations, ways of conceptualizing education that can be understood quickly yet are flexible enough to accommodate a range of interpretations. A myth holds for a period and then transitions into a new myth that best suits changed times and changed circumstances. I reflect on what the myths of Waldorf education might be and take up Gramsci's well-known quotation on change, "The crisis consists precisely of the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear," In writing this, Gramsci extended the interregnum beyond its usual papal connotation to include the socio-cultural condition as well. I use the notion to consider if Waldorf education is currently in an interregnum period and is displaying both "morbid symptoms" and promising signs of fresh development. In addition, I contemplate if these promising signs point toward a new myth that will allow Waldorf education to step beyond its century-old, colonial heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational myths occur when evidence-based research does not confirm common beliefs about learning and teaching methodology. On the other hand, educational misconceptions are beliefs which have been debunked by research but are still being used in a classroom setting. This research aims to investigate the beliefs of Maltese primary school educators concerning the main educational myths and misconceptions. The researcher seeks to provide a perspective of the local educators in relation to common educational myths and how these beliefs could infiltrate the Maltese educational system. A quantitative explorative design was utilised to evaluate the beliefs of Maltese primary school educators concerning four areas: Learning Styles, Bilingualism, Digital Learners and Homework. One hundred and seventy-nine educators responded to an online questionnaire. The researcher used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse the data. Results indicate that primary school educators believe in myths related to learning styles the most, followed by misconceptions about homework provision. Chi-square analysis revealed that myths were widespread throughout different cohorts, where no difference between educators' roles and level of education could be identified; however, some differences between sectors could be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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