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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]

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.

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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The learning styles myth is prevalent among (pre-service) teachers. Research shows that texts and podcasts refuting misconceptions and contrasting them with scientific concepts can effectively dissolve such misconceptions through cognitive conflicts, encouraging the reflection of one's beliefs. However, it is unclear if texts and podcasts differ in refuting pre-service teachers' misconceptions. We investigated if conceptual change texts and podcasts have different potential for inducing conceptual change among pre-service teachers regarding their beliefs in the learning styles myth, compared to an expository information presentation immediately and up to eight weeks after the intervention. 116 pre-service teachers participated in the short term, and 100 in the long term. The experimental study used a 2 x 2 x 4 mixed-design (manner of information presentation: conceptual change vs expository; medium: podcast vs text; time: immediately before and after the treatment as well as four and eight weeks later). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. Students' beliefs were measured at all four measurement points. The conceptual change conditions led to a stronger decrease in students' beliefs than the expository conditions in the short term (p < 0.01, η2 = 0.08) and the long term (p = 0.03, η2 = 0.04). Text and podcast were equally effective in the short term (p = 0.62, η2 = 0.00, BF 01 = 9.13) and the long term (p = 0.67, η2 = 0.00, BF 01 = 39.94). Podcasts and texts using conceptual change strategies can effectively dispel pedagogical misconceptions among pre-service teachers up to eight weeks post-intervention. • Learning styles myth is a prevalent misconception among (pre-service) teachers. • Conceptual change occurs when misconceptions are refuted and contrasted with facts. • Conceptual change podcast/text are effective up to eight weeks post-intervention. • Podcast and text are equally effective for promoting conceptual change. • Podcasts are an effective medium, alongside texts, for promoting conceptual change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All real classrooms are saturated in the fictional narratives about education from TV and movies that swirl about thickly and persistently in western culture, yet the influence that these fictions exert on real teachers and real students is seldom examined. This article argues that since these fictional narratives nearly always deal in recycled stereotypes of both students and teachers, and that since these stereo-types are both ubiquitous and compelling, and that since they seldom receive critical attention, the influence they exert on real teachers and real students is to mislead, confuse, and impoverish their evaluations of and expectations about the nature of genuine education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]