Social Pedagogy

Social pedagogy, whose ancestral home is nineteenth century Germany, and which is widely practised in many parts of Continental Europe, has recently arrived in the English-speaking world. As practice, social pedagogy has been around for a long time, but as many roses by other names. These roses include: care of the poor , child welfare , and, more recently, social work . But today, social pedagogy, has entered the English language, and is here to stay. It has not made inroads into the vernacular yet, but is commonly used in the social professions and also, increasingly,in academic and policy circles. Moreover, in the UK, for example, social pedagogy courses (bachelor and master) have appeared in several universities, including the University of Aberdeen and the University of London. Notwithstanding, from what I can see, there is as yet no textbook of social pedagogy in English. SOCIAL PEDAGOGY: Applying the Heart and the Head, seeks to fill that gap. As things are, students have to trawl a multitude of sources in order to find English texts on social pedagogy. Some of the sources are excellent; others dubious. That is why I have written a concise textbook of social pedagogy. The intention is to present and explore the relationship between social pedagogic theory and practice in an introductory text, and to do so in easy-to-understand, but not trivialising, language. I originally proposed to use the title, SOCIAL PEDAGOGY. However, Professor Peter Herrmann, Editor at Europäischer Hochschulverlag,thought that sounded too dull. What about, the Heart and the Head?, he asked. He is right, of course. Given that social pedagogy is (or should be) based on compassionate values, the Heart, as a metaphor for human kindness, is a moral compass. It reminds the Head, which is the site of rational action, that best practice is not just about effectiveness but also concerns social justice. The emancipatory goal of social pedagogy is to enable, through educational means, perceived efficacy so that people can change theirlives and society for the better. I have italicised their lives in order to make an important point. Social pedagogic practice is not a doing to the other, but rather a doing for and doing with the other. For this reason, respectful dialogue must lie at the centre of social pedagogic relationships.