History of Existential Pedagogy

Late 1980s – 1990s

• Wasiliki Winkelhofer (teacher at an academic secondary school (Gymnasium) in Munich) and Uwe Lau (teacher at various reform-oriented schools in Germany) began exploring ways to integrate Existential Analysis (EA) – particularly the existential dialogue – into classroom teaching. They presented their ideas at GLE congresses and published in the GLE journal (formerly Bulletin, now named Existenzanalyse).
• Karl Dienelt (born 1919) a secondary school teacher in Vienna from 1940 to 1981, with academic backgrounds in Classical Philology, Philosophy, and History, published several books starting in 1955, including:
  • Pedagogical Anthropology. A Science Theory
  • The New Thinking in Educational Science
  • From the Metatheory of Education to "Meaning"-Oriented Pedagogy
  • Education for Responsibility
• Günter Funke (October 2, 1948 – August 3, 2016), a theologian, frequently incorporated fundamental pedagogical considerations into his lectures and seminars. He focused on practical and authentic anthropology as well as phenomenology of life.
• Christoph Kolbe (born 1955), a psychotherapist and existential analyst who also studied education, frequently emphasized pedagogical topics in his lectures and seminars, particularly phenomenological and dialogical approaches. Through his training program "Teaching Authentically", he sought to strengthen teachers in their authenticity.
• Michaela Probst, a teacher and existential analyst from Graz, was the first to develop a continuing education curriculum for teachers in what was then called Existential-Analytical Pedagogy. Her focus was on enhancing teachers' qualifications and supporting their psychological knowledge of children and adolescents.

Since 2000

• Eva Maria Waibel (born 1953), a primary and secondary school teacher, psychotherapist (Existential Analysis and Logotherapy), and PhD in Educational Sciences, has taught at various universities of teacher education (Lucerne, Zug, Carinthia, Tyrol, Vorarlberg).
  • She has extensively researched the pedagogical implications of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis for education and teaching.
  • She has conducted research and published on these topics ([Link to publication list]).
  • She developed a systematic framework for Existential Pedagogy, based on principles of general education, and designed several postgraduate master's programs in Existential Pedagogy.

2012

• The GLE-International reached a consensus on the name "Existential Pedagogy."
• The term "Personal Pedagogy" had already been used in a different context, and "Existential" was deemed essential to defining the approach.

2019

• Founding of the Institute for Existential Pedagogy by Eva Maria Waibel, Thomas Happ, Andreas, and Doris Hausheer