Amherst, MA — Douglas J. W.
Gerwin is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as an Exceptional Education
Professional for his work as an educator and researcher.
Dr. Gerwin earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and
Psychology from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom in 1972. He
received a Master of Arts in Psychology and Literature in 1980 and a Doctor of
Philosophy in Phenomenological Psychology and Literature in 1984, both from the
University of Dallas. While pursuing his
graduate degree, he was invited to share his experiences as an alumnus of a
Waldorf school with U.D. faculty working on a study of Waldorf schools. In
making presentations to his professors, he came to realize how much he enjoyed
teaching; as a result of this experience, he decided to launch a new career as
a Waldorf high school teacher.
Dr. Gerwin began his career as a correspondent for Reuters News Agency in 1972
while living in the United Kingdom and continued working in journalism until
1978. That year, he began his teaching career at the University of Dallas as a
graduate and teaching assistant for the department of psychology. In 1981, he
advanced to the position of lecturer in the psychology and education
departments at the university.
Later, Dr. Gerwin became a teacher and administrator for High Mowing School
where he taught high school English, German, history, mathematics, music, and
science until 2004. During this same time, Dr. Gerwin began visiting and guest
teaching at other North American Waldorf schools starting in 1985 which he
continues presently. In this role, he serves as a lecturer and workshop leader
on child development and Waldorf Education for schools, teacher training
institutes, and universities. He also advises and evaluates Waldorf high
schools in North America, serving as a mentor for new high schools. He was also
a founding member of the Leadership Council for the Association of Waldorf
Schools of North America for the past 20 years.
Currently Dr. Gerwin is Executive Director of both the Center for
Anthroposophy, specializing in the training of Waldorf teachers, and the
Research Institute for Waldorf Education.
Throughout his career, Dr. Gerwin continued to utilize his skill as an editor
and reviewer in several capacities. He was a copy editor, manuscript editor,
and managing editor for the scholarly journal, Dragonflies: Studies in Imaginal
Psychology, and a book reviewer for Spring: An Annual of Archetypal Psychology.
In 1980, he worked as a manuscript editor and bibliographer for Psychological
Life: From Science to Metaphor by R. D. Romanyshyn. Since 2004, he has been a
manuscript editor for the Research Bulletin of the Research Institute for
Waldorf Education and is the founding editor of Center and Periphery, an online
newsletter of the Center for Anthroposophy, and occasional editorial reviewer
for the international online journal Research on Steiner Education. He has also
developed a series of online seminars for high school teachers titled Starlight
Rays in Darkened Times.
Dr. Gerwin published a Waldorf High School Curriculum Guide in 1988 and edited
a collection of essays entitled “For the Love of Literature: A Celebration of
Language and Imagination,”, published in 1996. He has contributed many works on
Waldorf schools, including “Research on Waldorf Graduates Phase I” in 2005,
“Survey of Waldorf Graduates Phase II” in 2006, “And Who Shall Teach the
Teachers? The Christ Impulse in Waldorf Education” in 2007, and “Trailing
Clouds of Glory: Essays on Sexuality and the Education of Youth in Waldorf
Schools” in 2014, among several others. Most recently he co-authored
“Into the World: How Waldorf Graduates Fare After High
School” and edited “Tapestry of a Waldorf Curriculum: A Teacher's Guide to the
Waldorf School Grades 1-12,” both of which were published through Waldorf
Publications in 2020. Dr. Gerwin plans to conduct further research to
demonstrate the benefits of Waldorf Education. He is continually working
towards helping Waldorf Education flourish and be more accessible to a wider
range of students.
In his spare time, Dr. Gerwin enjoys music, spending time with family, writing,
and travel.
Dr. Gerwin is considered an expert in the health of adolescents. He is a member
of the Pedagogical Section Council in the School for Spiritual Science of the
Anthroposophical Society in America, has served as Chair of the Teacher
Education Delegates Circle in the Association of Waldorf Schools of North
America, and as member of the International Council for Steiner/Waldorf
Education (Hague Circle).
Dr. Gerwin wishes to acknowledge his mentors, John F. Gardner and Robert D.
Romanyshyn. He also would like to honor the memory of his dear parents, Edgar
and Elsie Lilian Gerwin, and to thank his loving wife, Connie, for her support.
