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.
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