Books
Education for a Beautiful Life. (Peter Lang, 2025)
Education is marked by conflicting demands and expectations from the state, society and individuals. Views on what education and schooling should achieve are numerous and vary across time and place. However, one recurring hope of people as human beings, this book argues, is to live a good and perhaps even a ‘beautiful life’. Drawing on Wilhelm Schmid’s notion of the art of living, this book explores how an Education for a Beautiful Life can make a meaningful contribution to some of today’s complex conversations, such as (student) wellbeing, social equity, equal educational opportunity, individual and social good, and the purposes, aims and goals of education and schooling.
Written during a time of increasing challenges due to rapid technological innovation, shifting political landscapes, global migration, and changing work requirements, this book offers new insights into the question of what education is, and what it can do to help people navigate the challenges of our time by developing their own art of living and pursuing the hope of a good and beautiful life.
Education and Schmid’s Art of living: Philosophical, psychological and educational perspectives on living a good life (Routledge, 2018)
Instead of simply following the current neoliberal mantra of proclaiming economic growth as the single most important factor for maintaining well-being, Education and Schmid’s Art of Living revisits the idea of an education focused on personal development and the well-being of human beings. Drawing on philosophical ideas concerning the good life and recent research in positive psychology, Teschers argues in favour of shifting the focus in education and schooling towards a beautiful life and an art of living for today’s students.
Containing a thorough discussion of the ideas of contemporary German philosopher Wilhelm Schmid, this book considers the possible implications of developing a more humanistic and life-centred approach to educational policy, research and practice, showing that Schmid’s concept of Lebenskunst provides a firm philosophical basis for this endeavour. Among others, this book draws on analytical and continental traditions to challenge current views and assumptions in regard to education and the role of schooling for contemporary societies. As a result, Teschers’ work is sure to spark a debate about the direction of educational policy and practice in the 21st century.
Education and Schmid’s Art of Living is essential reading for academics and students with an interest in education. Given the importance of such topics as the relationship between education and society, teacher education and how best to structure schools and learning environments, Teschers’ work will appeal to academics and students in a diverse range of fields, including education, philosophy, sociology and psychology.
Articles & Book Chapters
Palmer M.A., Ramiah K., Clarke T.-H., & Teschers C. (2025) Cross-cultural Approaches to Develop an Art of Living: Exploring Indigenous Māori Frameworks in Relation to Wilhelm Schmid’s Philosophy. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 60(2), 357-375. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40841-025-00395-1 (open access)
Teschers, C., Neuhaus, T., & Vogt, M. (2024) Troubling the Boundaries of traditional Schooling for a rapidly changing Future – looking back and looking forward. Educational Philosophy and Theory. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131857.2024.2321932 (open access)
Teschers, C., & Nieto, M. (2023) Buen Vivir and the Art of Living. Comparing Western and Latin American Perspectives on Living a “Good Life”. Philosophical Inquiry in Education, 30(3), 207-220. https://journals.sfu.ca/pie/index.php/pie/article/view/1567 (open access)
Cowper, A., & Teschers, C. (2023) An Exploration of how Te Whāriki and the New Zealand Curriculum prepare students for an Art of Living. New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, 20(1), 57-72. https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/teachers-work/article/view/369 (open access)
Teschers, C. (2023). Education towards a beautiful life in an imperfect world. In Kamp, A., Brown, C, O’Toole, V, & McMenamin, T (eds.) Wellbeing: Global policies and perspectives. Peter Lang.
Teschers, C. & McMenamin, T. (2019). Diversity within Aotearoa and the New Zealand education system. In Kamp, A. (ed.) Education studies in Aotearoa: Key disciplines and emerging directions. Wellington, New Zealand: NZCER. (open access version click here)
D’Olimpio L. & Teschers C. (2017) Playing with philosophy: Gestures, life-performance, P4C and an art of living. Educational Philosophy and Theory 49(13): 1257-1266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2017.1294974. (open access version click here)
Teschers C. (2017) A beautiful life as an end of education. Knowledge Cultures 5(6): 62-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.22381/KC5620175. (open access version click here)
D’Olimpio L. and Teschers C. (2016) Philosophy for Children Meets the Art of Living: A Holistic Approach to an Education for Life. Philosophical Inquiry in Education 23(2): 114-124. https://journals.sfu.ca/pie/index.php/pie/article/view/422 (open access)
Teschers C. (2016) The role of the art of living in early childhood education. Journal of Philosophy in Schools 3(2): 40-50. http://dx.doi.org/10.21913/JPS.v3i2.1349. (open access)
Teschers C. (2015) The Art of Living and Positive Psychology in Dialogue. Educational Philosophy and Theory 47(9): 970-981. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2015.1044839. (open access version click here)
Teschers C. (2015) The Role of Friendship and Partnership in an Education for Life. Knowledge Cultures 3(5): 92-101. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/15363 (open access version click here)
Teschers C, Harris S (2015). The notion of well-being in the New Zealand education system. He Kupu. 4(2). 71-81. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/15364
Teschers C (2013). An Educational Approach to the Art of Living. Knowledge Cultures. 1(2). 131-144. (open access version click here)