Holistic Learning is based on the principle of interconnectedness and wholeness. Thus the student is seen as a whole person with body, mind, emotions and spirit.

Holistic Learning seeks to develop approaches to teaching and learning that foster connections between subjects, between learners through various forms of community.

Holistic Learning seeks a dynamic balance in the learning situation between such elements as content and process, learning and assessment, and analytic and creative thinking.

Holistic Learning is inclusive in terms of including a broad range of students and a variety of learning approaches to meet their diverse learning needs.

The Holistic Education network of ACSA has been described as follows:
This network links those with an interest in approaches to education which seek to educate the whole person. This includes studies of interconnected views of the world, body/mind relationships, multiple intelligences, explorations of concepts of spirituality and classroom practice arising from holistic views of persons, cultures, the world and the cosmos.

OISE/UT (CTL) http://astralsite.com/holistic/HAE.html

In the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Institute of Education of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Holistic Education is seen as an interdisciplinary focus and is described in the following words:

Holistic and Arts-Based  Education recognizes the interconnectedness of body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Learning is viewed as an experiential, organic process; making connections is seen as central to curriculum processes. An aesthetic perspective and the process of building knowledge through inquiry are see as integral to all forms of education and life itself. Creative tools and webs of communication are explored within this context. Courses in this program focus on arts education, creativity, contemplation, imagery, literature, mathematics and technology, and experience-based approaches to language.

Holistic instructional strategies include: visualisation, cooperative learning, creative problem solving strategies and drama. However, holistic education avoids emphasis on one particular technique but instead stresses a multi-level approach to education that acknowledges interdependence and connectedness.

Completed Masters and Doctoral Thesis Topics have included: narrative study of educators who practice meditation; reflections on choreography and ethnicity, the educational and artistic role of the gallery curator, a curriculum performance art, a sculptor's journey of enlightenment, peer teaching, tools for building communities, elements of linkage in drama implementation, visual
metaphor, the native voice of Northern Ontario literature, the reflexive novel, the poetics of the
heart, female creativity and feminine consciousness, guided journal writings, the actor as teacher,
art appreciation and the deaf student.

LINKS - surf the Web to the following sites...

1. http://www.putnampit.com/holistic.html
Values in Holistic Education by Scott H. Forbes - Roehampton Institute London Third Annual Conference on 'Education, Spirituality and the Whole Child' June 28, 1996

2. http://www.pathsoflearning.net/
Paths of Learning - What is Holistic Education? Scope and Boundaries of Holistic Education, Holistic Education References, What are the primary philosophies that distinguish it from traditional education? Who were the pioneers in holistic education? by Ron Miller

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holistic_education - Wikipedia on Holistic Education

4. http://www.infed.org/biblio/holisticeducation.htm
The encyclopedia of informal education - what is holistic education? Ron Miller

5. http://www.great-ideas.org/
Great Ideas in Education - the joint website of Holistic Education Press,  Psychology Press, and the publishing division of the Foundation for Educational Renewal.

6. http://members.iinet.net.au/~rstack1/gate.htm
The Global Alliance for Transforming Education: GATE was an international organisation in the 1980s whose stated mission was: "To proclaim and promote a vision of education that fosters personal empowerment, social justice and a sustainable development."

7. http://www.hent.org/
Holistic Education Network of Tasmania, Inc.

8. http://members.iinet.net.au/~rstack1/world/he_australia.htm
Holistic Education in Australia

Links to additional resources related to Holistic education.
8. http://www.creatinglearningcommunities.org/book/roots/miller5.htm
Creating Learning Communities by a Coalition for Self Learning

9. http://www.spiritofholisticeducation.org.uk/
Spirit of Holistic Education:Becoming a Better Teacher-  numerous links on the subject

10. http://astralsite.com/holistic
Holistic Learning: Breaking New Ground: The Sixth International Conference was October 26-28, 2007
OISE/UT, Toronto, Canada - upcoming will be information for the 2009 conference.

11. http://www.holistic-education.net/index.html - an introduction to holistic education with articles and resources on the subject.

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July 2008