Social media pedagogy and practice
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 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 can be seen there is as yet no textbook of social pedagogy in English SOCIAL PEDAGOGY Heart and 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 The intention of a concise textbook 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 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 their lives and society for the better The author has 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 dialog Social Pedagogy Heart and Head
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