Social Pedagogy

This introductory text discusses the development of social pedagogy as an academic discipline and explores its influence on UK debates about welfare practice. The book provides the theoretical structure for understanding: the potential of social pedagogy in UK welfare practice * how key ideas from within social pedagogy can be linked to ideas of inclusion, creativity, and personalization * the impact of power relations on the social pedagogic relationship * the importance of creativity in building inclusive practice. Focusing on practice situations within which social pedagogy can be seen to be effective, the book provides a background to the introduction of social pedagogy in the UK. It investigates how European and UK services could benefit from a better mutual understanding of what each other does. It also discusses how social pedagogy can contribute to other areas of practice, including youth work, adult social care, and community development.

Social pedagogical work is a field of practice that is indebted to and illuminated by aspects of knowledge from sociology and psychology, but many practitioners feel that social pedagogical theories are too abstract and distant from the challenges faced in practice. In Practical Social Pedagogy Jan Storo shows the reader for the first time how the theories and practices of social pedagogy interlock. The book combines social pedagogy theories, psychology, sociology and social work with a social constructionist perspective to help practitioners guide children and young people to cope better with the challenges they face as they grow up. The author emphasises that the actualities of practice are first disclosed in the meeting between the professional practitioner and the client. The book uses many practical examples to help make the application of social pedagogy more accessible, and is ideal for students on courses covering work with children and young people. This translation has been carried out by Kirsti Spaven and is published with the financial support of NORLA.

"This book is intended to serve as a guide to the social pedagogy discipline for those involved in many levels who are dealing with different types of socio-pathological phenomena and problems in the theory and practice, and offering an in-depth theoretical framework and a primary emphasis on practice with applications to interdisciplinary educational environments"--

This ground-breaking text explores the intersection between dominant modes of critical educational theory and the socio-political landscape of American Indian education. Grande asserts that, with few exceptions, the matters of Indigenous people and Indian education have been either largely ignored or indiscriminately absorbed within critical theories of education. Furthermore, American Indian scholars and educators have largely resisted engagement with critical educational theory, tending to concentrate instead on the production of historical monographs, ethnographic studies, tribally-centered curricula, and site-based research. Such a focus stems from the fact that most American Indian scholars feel compelled to address the socio-economic urgencies of their own communities, against which engagement in abstract theory appears to be a luxury of the academic elite. While the author acknowledges the dire need for practical-community based research, she maintains that the global encroachment on Indigenous lands, resources, cultures and communities points to the equally urgent need to develop transcendent theories of decolonization and to build broad-based coalitions.

Situated at the intersection between social work and education, social pedagogy is an original and dynamic academic and professional tradition. It can be found across most European countries and shows great variety, being closely connected to specific national - and sometimes even regional cultures and structures. Yet despite this diversity, social pedagogy also has many common features, cross-nationally. The aim of the book is to illustrate this diversity via a selection of case studies from Denmark, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden. Although social pedagogy is, in many countries, a profession that represents a sizeable workforce, very little has been written about it from a European perspective. Comparative literature tends to look at social work, whereby social pedagogy is obscured. But while there is a lack of comparative social pedagogy literature, interest in social pedagogy is growing. This is particularly so in the United Kingdom where no social pedagogy tradition exists but policy developments point to the emergence of a social pedagogy paradigm both in academia and in terms of careers. This book aims to help fill the gap. Case studies deal with theoretical and practical aspects of social pedagogy, professional education, fields of practice and research as well as links with other academic and professional paradigms.

A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2013! Educating Activist Allies offers a fresh take on critical education studies through an analysis of social justice pedagogy in schools serving communities privileged by race and class. By documenting the practices of socially committed teachers at an urban private academy and a suburban public school, Katy Swalwell helps educators and educational theorists better understand the challenges and opportunities inherent in this work. She also examines how students responded to their teachers’ efforts in ways that both undermined and realized the goals of social justice pedagogy. This analysis serves as the foundation for the development of a curricular framework helping students to foster an "Activist Ally" identity: the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to negotiate privilege in ways that promote justice. Educating Activist Allies provides a powerful introduction to the ways in which social justice curricula can and should be enacted in communities of privilege.

This highly engaging and introductory-level book is aimed at students and practitioners alike to help build an understanding of social pedagogy and its relevance to practice. Case studies and reflective exercise introduce students and practitioners to the basic principles and concepts, while chapter-by-chapter reflection logs, support a more critical engagement with essential skills for practice.

In Practical Social Pedagogy, Jan Stor shows the reader how the theories and practices of social pedagogy work together. He combines social pedagogy theories, psychology, sociology, and social work with a social constructionist perspective to help practitioners guide children and young people to cope better with the challenges they face as they grow up. Using many practical examples, he emphasizes the crucial meeting between practitioner and client as the space where the actualities of practice are determined.

The ambition of this two-volume publication is to illustrate the applicability of social pedagogy - as an academic and professional paradigm - to work with the most diverse target populations. It is launched at a moment when important and highly interesting developments can be observed in the United Kingdom: a country without a traditional social pedagogy model has started importing social pedagogy from countries with a social pedagogy tradition. Social Pedagogy for the Entire Lifespan illustrates how social pedagogy - as a model in theory and practice - has been and is currently being used, around and across Europe, for work with people of all age groups. Volume II proposes chapters on work with adults (including social problems, physical and mental disabilities) and older people, written by authors based in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Readers will find chapters discussing the implications regarding the use of educational theories to conceptualise social pedagogy, as well as the relevance of life-long learning debates, not only in academia but also in politics. The global (worldwide) dimension is covered by a chapter on the relationship between Latin American and European social pedagogy.

The ambition of this two-volume publication is to illustrate the applicability of social pedagogy - as an academic and professional paradigm - to work with the most diverse target populations. It is launched at a moment when important and highly interesting developments can be observed in the United Kingdom: a country without a traditional social pedagogy model has started importing social pedagogy from countries with a social pedagogy tradition. Social Pedagogy for the Entire Lifespan illustrates how social pedagogy - as a model in theory and practice - has been and is currently being used, around and across Europe, for work with people of all age groups. Volume I is dedicated to the theory and history of social pedagogy, as well as to practice with children and young people. Chapters cover Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and Spain. Volume II will include chapters on practice with adults and seniors, as well as chapters on further perspectives.