| 1954 | Born in Remscheid |
| | |
| 1972-1978 | Studied educational science, sociology and philosophy at the Universities of Düsseldorf and Tübingen |
| 1978-1980 | Social worker (residential care) |
| 1981-1985 | Collaborated on diverse projects studying the professional socialization on social pedagogues / research assistant at the University of Tübingen |
| 1985 | Doctoral dissertation on the relationship between everyday life and utopia; published studies of youthwork, cultural work, cultural education, and the global challenge of social work |
| 1992 | Habilitation text on the history and perspectives of a dynamic cultural youthwork |
| 1993-1996 | Acting professor at the University of Jena |
1996 | Professor of social pedagogy at the University of Jena |
| 2002 | Guest professor at the University of California, Berkeley (USA) |
| Since May 2003 | Professor for educational science with a specialism in social pedagogy at the University of Tuebingen |
| Since October 2019 | Retired |
