Home: Freunde Waldorf

Ukraine: a country on the path of being reconstructed

After the political decay of the Soviet Union from 1991 onwards, the interest in independent education grew in the former Soviet republic and the second largest country in Europe. From 1993 onwards, the first Ukrainian Waldorf kindergartens and schools emerged.

Since 1995, there is a teacher and educators training facility in Odessa and since 1998 there is a second teacher training opportunity offered in the capital Kiev. Three years later the specialist subject teacher training was added and in 2000 the class teacher and specialist teacher training in Dnepropetrovsk opened.

Even after the Orange Revolution of 2005, the political, economic and social situation in Ukraine remains extremely difficult. High prices and very low wages go hand in hand with the increasing impoverishment of the population. Many parents and educators take on considerable efforts and restrictions on themselves, to enable their children to attend a Waldorf kindergarten.

Some Waldorf schools are run as private schools without any government support, and therefore ensuring survival is extremely difficult for them. This is the case especially in Kiev and Odessa.

At present there are private and public Waldorf kindergartens and schools in five cities throughout the country (Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Kiev and Kryvyj Rih). There are also Waldorf educational initiatives in Zaporizhia and Crimea, and in Kharkov there is a curative education facility.

Dnipro - Waldorf School

Ukraine: Dnepropetrovsk is located in the south-central part of Ukraine and is the third largest city in the country. In Soviet times the city was an important centre of the nuclear, arms and space…

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Kiev - Sonnenhof

Ukraine: Since 1 March 2004, the Sonnenhof initiative is working with children with special needs under the umbrella of the private Michael Waldorf School in…

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Kiev - Sophia Steiner School

Ukraine: The Sophia Steiner School in Kiev began in 1997 with a first grade. Year after year another grade was added, until objections from the authorities…

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Odessa - Stupeni

Ukraine: In the Southeast of the country the Stupeni Waldorf School and kindergarten are located at the shores of the Black Sea. In 2012 the school in Odessa…

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Empower & donate now