La Pedagogía Social bajo una mirada comparativa internacional: análisis de la perspectiva académica, formativa y profesional

Abstract

In this research, we present a study on social pedagogy from a comparative perspective with the aim of offering an international overview of the current status of social pedagogy in the world today. The literature review places social pedagogy in a scenario of ambiguities and divergences regarding its scientific and professional status. On the one hand, the history of social pedagogy shows that academics and practitioners (Braches-Chyrek & Sünker, 2009; Rosendal, 2009; Kornbeck, 2009; Úcar, 2011) have followed separate paths, and on the other that the concept of social pedagogy responds to ideological, political and cultural approaches characteristic of each country (Hämäläinen, 2013a), which results in it being used in different contexts and with different meanings (Lorenz, 2008, Kornbeck & Rosendal, 2009). The above justifies the effort to understand social pedagogy training and how the discipline is being transformed around the world. However, the lack of a unified homogeneous theoretical body of social pedagogy and the conceptual ambiguity surrounding it accentuate the dilemma over whether social pedagogy is an area of knowledge, a professional field, a research field, or all three at once. We have moved into a stage where we do not have an immediate answer as to what social pedagogy is, what kind of knowledge it is or what its specific working methods are. This lack of a conceptual definition causes epistemological confusion and inaccuracy, and has led to the emergence of multiple polarized perspectives on the concept. This, in turn, has generated the need to undertake a study with a high level of reflection and maturity aimed at understanding the complexity of social pedagogy. We present a study that analyses the current situation of social pedagogy from the academic, training and professional viewpoints, with the aim of developing a series of indicators to construct an updated, global and integrated view of it. Our principle findings confirm that it is possible to define a theoretical, transdiciplinary and international common ground on social pedagogy and describe the specific features characteristic of each context.

Date of Award	28 Jun 2017
Original language	Spanish
Supervisor	Xavier Úcar Martínez (Director)