Transcript Implementing Social Pedagogy in Residential Child Care

Tell me, and I forget;
Show me, and I remember;
Let me do, and I understand.
Sylvia Holthoff
Gabriel Eichsteller
ThemPra Social Pedagogy CIC
“Children are a key to understanding a nation,
not only to comprehend the habits of a society
but also its collective intelligence and sustainability”
(Donata Elschenbroich, German sociologist)
Social pedagogy as an academic discipline is a ‘function of
society’ (Mollenhauer) – it describes how society thinks about
children and young people, their education and upbringing.
Therefore, social pedagogy is closely related to society at a
given time and place, it is context specific.
The Development of Pedagogic Thought
“We should not teach children the sciences,
but give them a taste for them”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778):
 Humans are naturally good and are corrupted
through society’s influence
 Upbringing and education in harmony with nature
 Emile (1762) describes healthy upbringing of a fictitious
character
 Facilitating opportunities for learning depending on where the
child is
The Development of Pedagogic Thought
“I seek education for humanity,
and this only emanates through love”
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827):
 Developed Rousseau’s core ideas
 Education as a holistic process addressing
head, heart, and hands
 Head: not imposing knowledge, but stimulate curiosity
 Heart: moral education, “without it, the other types would lose
their sense of direction”
 Hands: learning through physical activities, grasping the world
 Head, heart, and hands are inseparable and corresponding with
each other
 Importance of observation and reflective practice
 Role of pedagogue is to take care that “no untoward influence
shall disturb nature’s march of development”
The Development of Pedagogic Thought
The children have been vested with unknown powers
that could lead the way to a better future”
(Maria Montessori)
New Education Movement:
 Applied these thoughts into school context (Montessori, Steiner,
Fröbel, Hahn)
 Refined concept of children as competent (“A child has a
hundred languages” - Malaguzzi) and as equals (“Children don’t
become humans, they already are” - Korczak)
 Development of child participation and children’s rights in
pedagogic concepts of Montessori and Korczak
 Mainstreamed pedagogic thinking beyond educational
institutions  social pedagogy to address wider social issues
and tackle disadvantage / social exclusion
“I prefer the word pedagogue to teacher. A teacher is someone
paid by the hour to drill something into the child, while a
pedagogue draws something out. If you want to be a
pedagogue you have to learn to talk with children instead
of to them. You have to learn to trust their capacities and
possibilities.”
Janusz Korczak (1878 – 1942), Polish pedagogue,
paediatrician and author
What is Social Pedagogy?
Origin: Pedagogy – Greek pais (child), and agein (to lead, bring up)
Basis:
 Humanistic value base, e.g. respect, trust, unconditional
appreciation
 Fundamental concept of children as equal human beings with
rich and extraordinary potential, as competent, resourceful and
active agents
 Inter-disciplinary theory combining concepts and models from
sociology, psychology, education, philosophy, medical sciences
and social work
What is Social Pedagogy?
Aims:
 Holistic education – education of head (cognitive knowledge), heart
(emotional and spiritual learning),
and hands (practical and physical skills)
 Holistic well-being – strengthening health-sustaining factors
 To enable children to grow up as self-responsible persons who
take responsibility for their society
 To promote human welfare and prevent or ease social
problems
What is Social Pedagogy?
Pathways:
 Through providing opportunities for learning
(“It is not possible to
teach; but it is possible to create situations wherein it is impossible not to
learn”)
 By building strong and positive authentic relationships which
are non-hierarchical
 By enabling children to empower themselves
 Working in the everyday, focussing on the here and now, and
being constantly reflective
 Cultural impact on what is possible in practice – depending on
social images of children, policy-context, regulations,
qualifications
“Social pedagogy is a theory of all the personal, social and
moral education in a given society, including the
description of what has happened in practice.”
Karl Mager (1810 – 1858), German ‘founding father’ of
social pedagogy
Social pedagogy is deeply rooted in society and has grown
organically into a coherent system, wherein theory meets
practice.
“One should teach children to dance
on a tightrope without a safety net,
to sleep at night alone under the sky,
to row a boat out on the open sea.
One should teach them
to imagine castles in the sky
instead of houses on the ground,
to be nowhere at home but in life itself
and to find security within themselves.“
Hans-Herbert Dreiske, German poet and
social worker
The Pedagogic Triangle
“The essential thing is for the task to arouse such an
interest that it engages the child’s whole personality”
(Maria Montessori)
Systemic Pedagogy
Pedagogic practice is embedded
in societal context, corresponds
with and influences social
views on pedagogy and
informs policy-making
Badry & Knapp, 2003
Pedagogy – Theory meets Practice
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
(Fritz Perls)
Pedagogic practice is a holistic process creating a balance between:
 the professional (theory and concepts, reflective practitioner – the ‘head’)
 the personal (using one’s personality, positive attitude, building personal
relationships, but keeping the ‘private’ out – the ‘heart’)
 the practical (using certain methods and creative activities – the ‘hands’)
Personal
All three elements are equal and
complement each other synergy
Professional
Practical
‘The pedagogical approach rests on an image of a child as a
complex social being with rich and extraordinary potential,
rather than as an adult-in-waiting who needs to be given
the right ingredients for optimal development. […]
For pedagogues there is no universal solution, each
situation requires a response based on a combination of
information, emotions, self-knowledge and theory.’
Children’s Workforce Development Council, 2006
Pedagogic Concepts
3P’s:
 professional pedagogue
knowing theories, explaining behaviour, reflectivity
 personal pedagogue
relational contact, authenticity, using personality
 private pedagogue
personal boundaries of what is not shared
Pedagogic Concepts
“It is not possible to teach. But it is possible to create
situations wherein it is impossible not to learn”
The Common Third:
 Creating a commonly shared situation or activity as something
third between pedagogue and child
 Development of relationship around this activity, e.g. building
a kite, cooking, football
 Sharing and having something in common implies to be in an
equal relationship with full participation of both
 Both show a genuine interest in activity and are authentic -
use of personality as a resource
 Holistic education - common potential for learning
Comparative research on residential child care in Denmark,
Germany and England has shown the benefits of social
pedagogy on improving the life experience of children in care.
While the level of staff qualification is a significant factor, so is
the welfare system – different countries value residential care
very differently.
Research on Social Pedagogy
Qualifications of Workers (Cameron, 2008)
Which of these pillars represents Germany, England and Denmark
respectively?
Research on Social Pedagogy
Numbers of Children in Care (Cameron, 2008)
Which of these pillars shows the distribution in England / Denmark /
Germany?
100%
Numbers:
90%
80%
England
6
44 per 10,000 young p
70%
60%
50%
40%
Denmark
30%
1
20%
10%
98 per 10,000 young p
0%
England
Foster care
Independent living
Denmark
Residential care
Other
Germany
Residential school
Germany
11
Research on Social Pedagogy
Key work responsibilities (Cameron, 2008)
Which graph colour belongs to Denmark, Germany and England
respectively?
England
Denmark
Germany
References on Social Pedagogy
Cameron, C. (2004). Social pedagogy and care: Danish and German practice in young people’s residential
care. Journal of Social Work, 4(2), 133-151.
Doyle, M. E., & Smith, M. K. (1997). Jean-Jacques Rousseau on education. The Encyclopaedia of Informal
Education. Available online: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rous.htm (accessed: 20/02/09)
Eichsteller, G. (forthcoming). Social Pedagogy in Britain – further developments. Social Work & Society
Online News Magazine (SocMag.net)
Hämäläinen, J. (2003). The Concept of Social Pedagogy in the Field of Social Work. Journal of Social Work,
3(1), 69-80.
Mollenhauer, K. (1964). Einführung in die Sozialpädagogik. Weinheim: Beltz Verlag. (English translation
available soon on www.thempra.org.uk)
Petrie, P., Boddy, J., Cameron, C., Wigfall, V. & Simon, A. (2006). Working with Children in Care –
European Perspectives. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Smith, M. K. (2009). Social Pedagogy. The Online Encyclopaedia of Informal Education. Available online:
http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-socped.htm (accessed: 20/02/09)
www.socialpedagogy.co.uk
www.socialpedagogyuk.com