Existential Positive Psychology and Love in Intercultural Didactics

Psychologists have explored the impact of educational contexts on the lives of individuals across cultures. Undoubtedly, they are keystones in life orientations, values, mental health and well-being, and emotional development. Often, love as an emotion has been underrepresented in discourses regarding education, although research has shown that “pedagogical love” can create the ideal foundation for development, growth and learning. This chapter explores the concept of pedagogical love from an existential positive psychology (EPP) perspective and argues that pedagogical love is an existential need for individuals to flourish. It is assumed that individuals have basic psychological needs for loving relationships and meaningfulness to be able to live a healthy life and establish positive mental health. EPP requires the integration of positive and negative experiences and emotions to lead a meaningful life. Core values of human existence such as relational support, meaningfulness and faith in something stronger than oneself, and developmental growth of the individual, should be built into educational and pedagogical settings. This chapter presents reasons why EPP, as a theoretical foundation for pedagogical love, is particularly important in intercultural didactics.