Principles of Ideal Learning
Drawn from the strength of world-renowned early childhood approaches including Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Friends Center for Children, Tools of the…
Report
Educator Development
IL Practice
Movement Building
Parents & Familes
Research
- Organization
- Alliance for Public Waldorf Education
Liz Beaven has thirty-five years experience in Waldorf education as a class teacher, school director, adult educator, researcher, and speaker. She is the president of the Alliance for Public Waldorf education and has been actively engaged for almost two decades in the expansion of the Waldorf approach into public education since the early 1990’s on curriculum and methodology, professional development, school support, educator development, and research. She is deeply committed to expanding access to education inspired by the core principles of Public Waldorf education and to the ongoing adaptation of Waldorf education to the needs of a diverse population of students, families, teachers, and their communities. She completed undergraduate and graduate education in New Zealand and returned to education after many years in the field to gain a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of California, Davis.
Liz joined the Ideal Learning Round Table in 2017; she has found this to be a rich opportunity to provide a broader context for Waldorf education and to expand engagement around essential questions of access, equity, and diversity in early childhood care and education. She recently engaged in research on “Ideal Pathways” for teacher preparation and co-authored a resulting report for the Trust for Learning. Ideal Pathways: How Ideal Learning Approaches Prepare and Support Early Childhood Educators. This research reinforced her conviction in the importance of a well-prepared, diverse population of teachers. Liz enjoys speaking and writing about the Ideal Learning Principles, their alignment with Waldorf education, and their importance for the healthy development of all children.
As a Waldorf teacher, parent, and now grandparent, Liz is acutely aware of the vital, formative nature of a child’s early years and the pressures placed by our society on children, parents and teachers. She is exploring possibilities for new forms of educator preparation and parent and teacher support through the virtual approaches that became essential due to COVID-19.
