Graduate outcomes and employment

Excellent employment prospects for Steiner trained teachers who have completed the Advanced Diploma of Rudolf Steiner Education

Steiner Education continues to expand in Australia and throughout the world, bringing with it an ever increasing demand for teachers trained in this educational philosophy. Upon qualification as a teacher, employment prospects are excellent!  

Read some of our students teaching journeys at the bottom of the page.

At present there are over 50 Steiner Schools (including State schools with Steiner streams) in Australia. The current and future needs for Steiner trained teachers in schools nationwide is outlined in research undertaken by Steiner Education Australia who endorse this course.

The state education authorities around Australia recognize the need for Steiner streams to run concurrently with mainstream education. In Victoria there are streams running at Mornington Park Primary School, Briar Hill Primary, Collingwood College, Thornbury Primary School, and East Bentleigh Primary School.

The flexibility that comes with having qualifications to teach in both the mainstream system and in Steiner Schools, or in State Schools with Steiner Streams greatly widens employment options.

These new and existing schools have an urgent ongoing demand for fully trained Steiner teachers, now and into the future.

Steiner schools place the highest priority on employing teachers who have attained this qualification. We have a Memorandum of Understanding with schools around Australia which states “It is the employment practice of this school that wherever possible we only employ suitable teachers with accredited Steiner Teacher Training.”  

Additionally, the enormous growth in Steiner education throughout the world and particularly in the Asia-Pacific, offers an attractive employability prospects for those who have completed the Advanced Diploma and are seeking to work outside Australia.  Please make yourself acquainted with the teacher accreditation requirements for the country you wish to teach in.

The Joy of Teaching

Read our graduates teaching journey and some of the many success stories

More stories will be added here as we interview or receive them.

Can you tell us a little about your teaching journey after you finished the Advanced Diploma of Rudolf Steiner Education?

After living in Melbourne and studying at the Michael Centre, I felt called to continue my life in Australia (I’m originally from the United States). I was eager to work in a Steiner school but wanted to remain in a government school setting, so I developed my skills at a few mainstream secondary schools. Meanwhile, I dreamed of working in the Steiner stream at Collingwood College and jumped at the opportunity to apply for a secondary position a few years ago. I’m currently teaching Class 7 Main Lesson and English and am also a year level coordinator. 

What do you enjoy most in your teaching, and / or other aspects in your life as a teacher? 
Although teaching has its obvious challenges, I love my work very much. It’s special to engage young people in creative ways, to help them grow and learn new things about themselves and the world. I enjoy moments when the class comes together to support one another in beautiful ways, like in the class play. I also enjoy the freedom to work creatively in Main Lessons and curate immersive experiences, like turning the classroom into a monk’s monastery for the Middle Ages Main Lesson.  

 

How has the Advanced Diploma informed and / or influenced you in your teaching and / or other areas of your life?
Participating in the Advanced Diploma helped me experience the world with more magic. I had no experience with alternative education philosophies before coming across Steiner Education in my late 20s, and I was questioning whether teaching was for me. However, my study at the seminar was rejuvenating. For the first time I got to share in my reverence for the importance of this work, the importance of nourishing the whole human being. The learning was meaningful, as were the relationships I developed with the mentors and members of my cohort. I’m still very close with a few people I met at the seminar. Participating in the Advanced Diploma has made me a more understanding, creative, and inspired teacher and it connected me with people I now consider my family in Melbourne.

Can you tell us a little about your teaching journey after you finished the Advanced Diploma of Rudolf Steiner Education?

I went on to complete my mainstream training by doing a Bachelor of Education Graduate Entry through Charles Darwin University.  After this, I taught for one year at a Steiner school in Northern NSW, before leaving the school and starting my own teaching program for home schooled children.  I have been teaching the same children for nearly four years now, and endeavor to take them for another 2 years until they reach high school age.  

What do you enjoy most in your teaching, and / or other aspects in your life as a teacher? 
It is my true joy and calling!  I adore my children and the enthusiasm they show to me everyday.  It has been a privilege to watch them grown and develop over the years, from round-faced Class 1 children to ever-maturing 10-year-olds.  Our mutual trust and rapport is ever deepening and with this long-standing relationship comes a great ability to know and adapt to what they need as learners.  As a result of traveling with the same children for many years, I am able to provide contextualized and integrated learning across all areas because of the extended time spent with them.  This is certainly a gift! 

How has the Advanced Diploma informed and / or influenced you in your teaching and / or other areas of your life?
 
The Advanced Diploma deeply impacted me and my teaching.  I received a thorough overview of all that would be required of me as a Class teacher, while also building deep connections with like-minded people who would remain close friends and colleagues into the future.  In addition, I very much appreciated the self-development aspect of the course, as the work I did on my myself and my own “River of Life” helped me to know myself more deeply which then helps me to be a better teacher.  I thoroughly enjoyed the comradery and friendships built over the two years as well as all the practical hands-on activities we engaged in.  I was greatly inspired by all the lecturers and tutors who offered such a well-spring of knowledge and experience in their teachings.  Those years were two of the most influential years of my life thus far and I am immeasurably grateful to have had that experience.  I could not recommend the course more highly! 

Current positions available

Visit the Steiner Education Australia (SEA) website to look at current positions vacant, or the international Waldorf Today site.