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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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

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Publications

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Publications

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)
The Theatricality of Pedagogy : An Exploration of the Open and Hidden Connections between Theatre and Pedagogy: Frimberger Katja, Kenklies Karsten; Paedagogica Paedagogica (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

The University of Hong Kong: Visiting researcher; 11/5/2026
Tamagawa University, Tokyo: Visiting researcher; 23/4/2026
Houan Kagurazaka Omotesenke Center for the Study of Tea Ceremony: Visiting researcher; 17/4/2026
Human formation in the pre-modern era. Focusing on the Japanese tea ceremony: Invited speaker; 15/4/2026
Kobe University: Visiting researcher; 15/4/2026
PESGB Annual Conference 2026: Participant; 27/3/2026

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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