Dr Karsten Kenklies

Senior Lecturer

Strathclyde Institute of Education

Personal statement

I joined the Institute of Education in April 2016 from Jena University, Germany, where I was a Junior-Professor, holding the Chair for Comparative Education in the Institute for Bildung and Kultur. I worked for nearly thirteen years in Jena and (among other things) delivered History and Philosophy of Education undergraduate and postgraduate teaching there. Very much rooted in the tradition of a Hermeneutic Pedagogy, my research endeavours to unveil the systematic structures of theories and practices of education through their contextualisation (especially within the History of Ideas, Science, Philosophy and Art) and through diachronic (i.e. historical) and synchronic (i.e. intercultural) comparisons in a national and international (especially Japanese) perspective. Besides this – and linked to it by a methodological perspective framed by the notion of recognition – I am very much interested in developing a theory of Queer Education based upon modern theories of social philosophy and Queer Theory.

At the Institute of Education, I am involved in a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Education Studies, especially in the History of Education & Systematic/ General Pedagogy, Foundations of Educational Theory, and Contemporary Challenges for Educational Theory and Practice. I am a member of the research group "Advanced Pedagogical Theory (APT)". Besides supervising a number of PhD projects, I act as programme leader for the full-time master course MSc Education Studies and represented the department in the Board of Studies of the faculty.

Expertise

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Area of Expertise

As part of my work, I supervise a number of Master and PhD students in different fields of conceptual or historical research. Those fields include e.g.

LGBT issues in educational theory
Intercultural comparison in educational theory
Japanese education
Martial Arts education
Hermeneutic Pedagogy
Pedagogical anthropology
Aesthetics & educational theory

I invite those who might be interested to work in one of those (or related) fields, to get in touch with me so that we can start to reflect upon a dissertation or any other kind of project. It would be good if a first contact would already include a short draft expose which answers the following questions:

What is the one(!) question your dissertation/ project attempts to answer, and which smaller questions do you think will lead up to an answer of the final big question?
What method would you like to use to find an answer to your question?
What material would you plan to use to answer your question?
What limitations do you think will your answer to your question inevitably have?

Based upon your answers to those questions, we can start to think about the possibility of a supervision or support for any sort of project.

Prize And Awards

Research & Conference Fellowship: Recipient; 2025
Research Fellowship: Recipient; 2023
Research Fellowship: Recipient; 2023
Research & Conference Fellowship: Recipient; 2023
Research & Conference Fellowship: Recipient; 2022
Research & Conference Fellowship: Recipient; 2019

More prizes and awards

Publications

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Publications

The Theatricality of Pedagogy : An Exploration of the Open and Hidden Connections between Theatre and Pedagogy: Frimberger Katja, Kenklies Karsten; Paedagogica Paedagogica (2026)
Setting the stage : the pedagogy of theatrical forms and the theatricality of pedagogical forms: Frimberger Katja, Kenklies Karsten; The Theatricality of Pedagogy Exploring the open and hidden connections between theatre and pedagogy (2026) (2026)
Zeigen oder Nicht-Zeigen : Anfragen an die Operative Pädagogik: Kenklies Karsten; Operativität – Erziehung – Differenz Systemtheoretische, praxistheoretische und phänomenologische Anschlüsse an Operative Pädagogik (2026) (2026); https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-36006-1_4
Universal individuals : national education in a globalized age: Kenklies Karsten, Lewin David; Journal of Philosophy of Education Vol 59, pp. 464-469 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1093/jopedu/qhaf018
Education Studies in a Different Key: Kenklies Karsten; (2025)
Strolling to nothingness : Japanese Tea Gardens and the initiation of Bildung: Kenklies Karsten; Journal of Philosophy of Education Vol 58, pp. 697-709 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1093/jopedu/qhae059

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Research

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Research Interests

My research is predominantly systematic-conceptual-comparative. Based on the comparison between European, (East-) Asian and North American theories and practices of education, I attempt to introduce a culturally sensitive theory of education. Especially discussions around a German notion of Bildung, American Transcendentalism and educational practices prevalent in traditional Japanese arts are used as foundation for developing a general theory of education.

Based upon research I did supported by a research fellowship that took me to Japan for 6 months (preceded and followed by regular visits), I am currently working on a series of papers that analyse theories and practices of education in pre-modern Japan to connect those ideas to modern continental concepts of Bildung and Anglo-Saxon ideas of self-formation.

As part of the research group 'Advanced Pedagogical Theory (APT)' at the Strathclyde Institute of Education, I am involved in a variety of different projects: publications, research projects, conferences, etc. In addition, I am co-founder of ExET - Experiments in Education Theory (www.exet.org) - a group of researchers that embraces a purely conceptual approach to education research and that is part of a larger international network of researchers who promote systematic-conceptual research into education across different countries and continents.

Professional Activities

PESGB Annual Conference 2026: Participant; 27/3/2026
1st Global Philosophy of Education Conference: Participant; 19/3/2026
Exclusive globality. The specific particularity of a Global Philosophy of Education: Speaker; 19/3/2026
Resonance in Education? Rethinking Encounter, Attunement, and Transformation: Participant; 9/3/2026
Bildung in einer turbulenten Welt: Invited speaker; 18/12/2025
Imagined Pedagogy, or Why there is no pedagogical practice without theory: Invited speaker; 18/12/2025

More professional activities

Projects

PESGB Summer School 2025 - 2028: Lewin, David (Principal Investigator) Frimberger, Katja (Co-investigator) Kenklies, Karsten (Co-investigator) Robertson, Nicola (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2028
What’s the ‘use’ in Higher Education? Examining the notion of usefulness in the past, present, and future of universities.: Robertson, Nicola (Principal Investigator) Kenklies, Karsten (Co-investigator) Lewin, David (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2026
Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain Summer School: Lewin, David (Principal Investigator) Frimberger, Katja (Principal Investigator) Kenklies, Karsten (Co-investigator) Robertson, Nicola (Co-investigator); The PESGB Summer School offers an opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate students to learn more about philosophy of education through a range of activities led by philosophers of education in a university campus setting and alternates between the two groups of students. The Undergraduate Summer School (around 40-50 students) normally involves three days of lectures, seminar discussions and social activities around a theme proposed and organised by the hosts. The Postgraduate Summer School (around 12-15 students) normally runs for five days and is typically led by one philosopher in discussion with others around a particular theme. The Summer School is free to attend and the Society funds all meals and accommodation. Participants are responsible for their own travel costs but a limited number of travel bursaries are available for applicants who are able to demonstrate financial need.; 31-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2028
Paul Feyerabend - Education for a Free Society: Kenklies, Karsten (Principal Investigator) Engelmann, Sebastian (Principal Investigator); 19-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2024
Translating F. Fröbel: Kenklies, Karsten (Principal Investigator) Friesen, Norm (Principal Investigator); 15-Jan-2021
New Education in International Perspective: Kenklies, Karsten (Principal Investigator) Sakuma, Hiroyuki (Principal Investigator) Kawaji, Ayako (Principal Investigator); 01-Jan-2020