Social Pedagogy

Unit 1

Text: Social Pedagogy Grammar: The Present Simple Tense. The Noun The Article

Text comprehension

Read and translate the text. While reading, try and find answers to the following questions.

1. What is social pedagogy?

2. What does social pedagogy aim at?

3. What social groups do social pedagogues work with?

4. What connects all social pedagogies?

5. Is social pedagogy a science or an art?

Social Pedagogy

Social pedagogy (the term originates from Greek) is an academic discipline concerned with theory and practiceof holistic education and care.

Social pedagogy interacts between the society and the individual. It aims to provide upbringing conditions that support human growth in two opposite directions, towards independence and towards interdependence. As this is a lifelong process, social pedagogues work within a range of different settings, from early years through adolescence working with disadvantaged adult groups as well as older people.

Social pedagogy is a “function of society”, reflecting social attitudes in many ways. It describes how a given society thinks about children’s upbringing, about the relationship between the individual and society, and how it supports disadvantaged or marginalised members of society.

Throughout history, different cultures have constructed varying meanings of social pedagogy. As a result, there is no agreed definition for social pedagogy – its meaning is specific to the context, the culture and the time. It would mean something slightly different, for example, to someone who works with very young children and a social pedagogue working with drug abusers. Social pedagogy has a long history, and is established as a profession in many European countries (under the title ‘Social education’ in southern Europe). There is therefore no single neat definition that covers the whole scene.

Irrespective of the cultural contexts and the different settings in which social pedagogues can work, there are shared basic principles. What connects all social pedagogies is the way of thinking, the philosophy, attitude and stance with which different methods are used. In practice social pedagogic depends not on what is done but on how it is done and this means that social pedagogy is both a science and an art form – it’s not just a skill to learn but needs to be brought to life through the social pedagogue’s attitude and stance.

This perspective of social pedagogy means that it is dynamic, creative, and process-orientated rather than mechanical, procedural, and automated. It demands from social pedagogues to be a whole person, not just a pair of hands. It involves:

a) a holistic approach to the child as an individual and in a social context;

b) the use of personal and professional aspects of the worker;

c) the use of shared activities as a medium for building relationships.

Hence, social pedagogy unites together theories and concepts from related disciplines such as sociology, psychology, education, philosophy, medical sciences, or social work.

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