Social Pedagogy
Aim
The aim of the research network 'Social Pedagogy' (also referred to as 'Social Education' in English-speaking countries, though the term 'Social Pedagogy' is becoming more common, at least in the UK) is to develop and strengthen the cooperation between researchers and research groups in Nordic countries who are engaged in research within the field of social pedagogy.
Research focusing on social pedagogy and inclusion represents a broad fan of scientific and professional approaches, and the research network will therefore form an important trans-disciplinary research meeting place across boundaries, and will also improve the scientific approach to Social Pedagogy and assist in linking research traditions in the various Nordic countries and the international research society. The joint effort is to focus on four main fields:
- The development of key conceptions in Social Pedagogy. Development of a theoretical understanding of Social Pedagogy that is related to international discourses within closely related fields such as social work, community development, social education, animation etc.
- Social pedagogy in different forms of institutions aimed at general pedagogical and educational tasks, from 'kindergarten' to higher education and 'life-long learning'.
- Specialised residential centres, group homes, non-residential programmes etc. for children and youths who require a great deal of treatment, and children, adolescents and adults with mental and/or physical functional disabilities or mental illness. Initiatives often include broader educational and pedagogical activities, but with care, treatment and (re)habilitation as basic objects.
- Preventive and prophylactic work aimed at groups and individuals in different segments of society, where the purpose is to support social integration and inclusion processes. Activities are carried out by a wide range of actors from municipalities to private social entrepreneurs and volunteers.
With these approaches to social pedagogy, the research network aims to support and develop research and method-oriented aspects within a wide range of social and educational fields with the meeting between individual and society as turn.
Description
The research network in Social Pedagogy (Social Education) deals with the consequences of social inequality and processes of marginalization in society, and the possibilities - through social pedagogy intervention - for improving life opportunities, learning, and competence development for at-risk children, youths, and adults . The purpose is to study the conditions for social pedagogy intervention and societal inclusion, including the possible effects of reform initiatives within social and educational policies.
The topicality of social pedagogy can by analysed in the light of the increasingly far-reaching task of social policy: to ensure society's social cohesion at a time when tendencies such as increased individualization, multi-culturalization, and globalization 'threaten' the social stability of the welfare state and the state, and tend to erode traditional social communities within and outside institutions. A general research theme is thus to isolate 'the social' today, since this would not only help in identifying the practical domains of social pedagogy but would also test analytical approaches to identifying what tendencies are in play in connection with societal forms of power and control, integration and segregation mechanisms in educational and labour market policies, and institutional processes of inclusion and exclusion.
Research and practice that are relevant for the network of Social Pedagogy may concern problems at the following levels; individual, group, and/or societal. Social Pedagogy is regarded as something that includes aspects of both upbringing/adaption and mobilization, sometimes with a special focus on one of these dimensions.
The overall ambition is to contribute to the development of theory (from both a societal and a professional point of view) and methods (from both a research-based and a practice-oriented point of view), thereby drawing the contours of social pedagogy in contemporary society.
Nordic coordinator
Elisabet Cedersund
Coordination group
Elisabet Cedersund, Professor, Social Work
Jönköping University
School of Health
Social Work
P.O. Box 1026, SE-551 11 Jönköping
Sweden
Phone no: +46 (0)36-101216
Mobile
Fax: +46 (0)36-101222
Email: elisabet.cedersund@hhj.hj.se
Lisbeth Eriksson, Associate Professor
Linköpings University
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning
SE-581 83 Linköping
Sweden
Telephone: +46 1328 5857
Mobile
Email: lisbeth.eriksson@liu.se
Søren Langager, Associate Professor, Vice head of the Research Programme 'Social Pedagogy and Special Education' (Social- og Specialpædagogik)
University of Aarhus
The Danish School of Education
Tuborgvej 164, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV
Denmark
Telephone: +45 8888 9184
Mobile
Fax: +45 8888 9706
Email: langager@dpu.dk
Yngve Troye Nordkvelle, Professor
Lillehammer University College
Department of Social Science
Pb 952, N-2604 Lillehammer
Norway
Telephone: +47 6128 8286
Mobile
Fax: +47 6128 8188
Email: yngve.nordkvelle@hil.no
Aim
The aim of the research network 'Social Pedagogy' (also referred to as 'Social Education' in English-speaking countries, though the term 'Social Pedagogy' is becoming more common, at least in the UK) is to develop and strengthen the cooperation between researchers and research groups in Nordic countries who are engaged in research within the field of social pedagogy.
Research focusing on social pedagogy and inclusion represents a broad fan of scientific and professional approaches, and the research network will therefore form an important trans-disciplinary research meeting place across boundaries, and will also improve the scientific approach to Social Pedagogy and assist in linking research traditions in the various Nordic countries and the international research society. The joint effort is to focus on four main fields:
- The development of key conceptions in Social Pedagogy. Development of a theoretical understanding of Social Pedagogy that is related to international discourses within closely related fields such as social work, community development, social education, animation etc.
- Social pedagogy in different forms of institutions aimed at general pedagogical and educational tasks, from 'kindergarten' to higher education and 'life-long learning'.
- Specialised residential centres, group homes, non-residential programmes etc. for children and youths who require a great deal of treatment, and children, adolescents and adults with mental and/or physical functional disabilities or mental illness. Initiatives often include broader educational and pedagogical activities, but with care, treatment and (re)habilitation as basic objects.
- Preventive and prophylactic work aimed at groups and individuals in different segments of society, where the purpose is to support social integration and inclusion processes. Activities are carried out by a wide range of actors from municipalities to private social entrepreneurs and volunteers.
With these approaches to social pedagogy, the research network aims to support and develop research and method-oriented aspects within a wide range of social and educational fields with the meeting between individual and society as turn.
Description
The research network in Social Pedagogy (Social Education) deals with the consequences of social inequality and processes of marginalization in society, and the possibilities - through social pedagogy intervention - for improving life opportunities, learning, and competence development for at-risk children, youths, and adults . The purpose is to study the conditions for social pedagogy intervention and societal inclusion, including the possible effects of reform initiatives within social and educational policies.
The topicality of social pedagogy can by analysed in the light of the increasingly far-reaching task of social policy: to ensure society's social cohesion at a time when tendencies such as increased individualization, multi-culturalization, and globalization 'threaten' the social stability of the welfare state and the state, and tend to erode traditional social communities within and outside institutions. A general research theme is thus to isolate 'the social' today, since this would not only help in identifying the practical domains of social pedagogy but would also test analytical approaches to identifying what tendencies are in play in connection with societal forms of power and control, integration and segregation mechanisms in educational and labour market policies, and institutional processes of inclusion and exclusion.
Research and practice that are relevant for the network of Social Pedagogy may concern problems at the following levels; individual, group, and/or societal. Social Pedagogy is regarded as something that includes aspects of both upbringing/adaption and mobilization, sometimes with a special focus on one of these dimensions.
The overall ambition is to contribute to the development of theory (from both a societal and a professional point of view) and methods (from both a research-based and a practice-oriented point of view), thereby drawing the contours of social pedagogy in contemporary society.
Nordic coordinator
Elisabet Cedersund
Coordination group
Elisabet Cedersund, Professor, Social Work
Social Work
P.O. Box 1026, SE-551 11 Jönköping
Sweden
Phone no: +46 (0)36-101216
Fax: +46 (0)36-101222
Email: elisabet.cedersund@hhj.hj.se
Lisbeth Eriksson, Associate Professor
Linköpings University
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning
SE-581 83 Linköping
Telephone: +46 1328 5857
Email: lisbeth.eriksson@liu.se
Søren Langager, Associate Professor, Vice head of the Research Programme 'Social Pedagogy and Special Education' (Social- og Specialpædagogik)
The Danish
Tuborgvej 164, DK-2400
Telephone: +45 8888 9184
Fax: +45 8888 9706
Email: langager@dpu.dk
Yngve Troye Nordkvelle, Professor
Department of Social Science
Pb 952, N-2604
Telephone: +47 6128 8286
Fax: +47 6128 8188
Email: yngve.nordkvelle@hil.no