Ne scuzati aparenta lipsa de interes pentru acest blog. Suntem foarte ocupati cu lucrarea finala, pe care o vom prezenta luni in intervalul orar 13:00-14:00 in Romania. Sper sa ne tineti pumnii. Avem emotii, dar asta nu pentru ca lucrarea noastra nu ar fi foarte buna. Voi ce credeti?
The evolution of social pedagogy through generations
Pedagogy and social pedagogy, as stated by Mager (1844), is the “Theory of all the personal, social and moral education in a given society, including the description of what has happened in practice”.
“The work of the pedagogue is essentially personal. The students and staff interviewed for the research often spoke of the work of the pedagogue in terms of the human person: head, hands and heart – all three being essential for the work of pedagogy. The personal, relational approach is emphasized in students’ training and education where fostering sound pedagogic values and attitudes is seen as at least as important as the acquisition of knowledge and skills. “(1)
The present paper will focus on certain concepts that are being used in social pedagogy and their implementation in various ways. The work is primarily based on the age factor, but also on the social and cultural environment. We raised the question if social pedagogy changes its implementations along with the age of the users, by understanding how the following four concepts work .Each concept is reinforced by concrete examples from our personal experience throughout the three institutions, namely: "Ved Æbletræet" nursery (0-3 years old), "Mark Homlstrup Klubben" youth club (11-18 years old), "Radgivningscaféen" (30-60 years old).
Individual approach and development support.
The individual approach focuses on each persons’ way of being, thus leading to the creation of a specific relationship. The person can require specific aid and support, leading the pedagogue towards the correct path to integration.
The methods used in nursery, when it comes to child approach are expressed through the following examples. First of all, there is a special group activity dedicated to helping children develop their vocabulary skills. Secondly, it is paid a special attention to the ADHD affected children, by adjusting their schedule to their own personal needs, such as adapting their sleep hours in order not to provide them with extra energy. Furthermore, in order to support the development of their organizing and motor skills, the rooms are furnished with special chairs to fit their stature as well as pictures on the drawers that indicate the toys that are supposed to be inside.
When referring to the youth club, the approach is firstly based on the in-house schooling if the background research on school situation requires it. This method is still in its early stages, requiring more logistical work. The institution also relies on research of social status and inclusion/exclusion level through the aid of the street workers. Street workers are social pedagogues working mainly on the field. They are the first link in the system to come across the social problems of youth. They also mediate, in a way, the relationship between the youth and the police. Furthermore, the kids are free to choose any activity they want, having the pedagogues to help them if needed. The pedagogues support their development in activities such as soccer, creative activities or computer games, by allowing them to express themselves in any way.
At "Radgivningscaféen", the users are also approached in an individual way. They are asked questions about their likes and dislikes, in order to introduce them to other users with the same interests. They are also given the intimacy needed when a problem occurs, but if that problem targets one of the other users, they are required to solve it together, using their full capacity of tolerance. The wide range of activities that take place in the café has the purpose of giving them the opportunity of choosing what they want to do. There are no activities settled by the pedagogues, which means that every person is free to organize his own day. Even though the users are adults, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t express their artistic qualities or develop them, which is why one of the pedagogues is teaching them how to play the guitar, and they are encouraged to interact in the literature group.
Powerlessness strategies
“There is a binary opposite regarding the power of the social pedagogue, an implicit assumption of powerful yet powerless.” (2) We are all equal, and if we can make people understand that equality is not only something we say, but is also what we think, it may turn into an obsolete concept in future pedagogy. Therefore, as pedagogues already have the instated power, they shouldn’t take pride in their position, but make use of their knowledge and reflections, in order to create situations in which everyone is equal.
In order to facilitate the communication between the pedagogue and the child, and boost the young one’s trust and confidence, the adult is coming down on one knee, in order to reach the child’s eye level. This lack of power is also revealed during meals, when, in order to show kids that eating is good for them, the pedagogues sometimes join them, sitting on the exact same chairs, and eating the same food. Also, the previous example is a way of showing how the “common third” concept plays an important role in the pedagogic work in the nursery. The first period of life is a very sensitive one and requires special attention and concentration, that’s why social pedagogues should be able to filter every word they say and every move they do, in order to avoid shaping children’s behavior and personality in a negative way, and to work on increasing their self esteem and make them feel secure.
In the Youth Club, powerlessness is the most common shown trait of the pedagogues. This diverges from the lack of constraint for the kids to participate in a given activity, to allowing them to arrive at any hour, or the freedom to swear if that is the way the youngster can blow off some steam. Another example of powerlessness inside the club is that kids actively participate in cooking the meals, but also in choosing the course. Also, the pedagogues engage in the same activities as the kids, whether is computer games or wall-climbing, thus revealing the implementation of the “Common Third” concept.
Taking into consideration the fact that the pedagogues and the users of the Radgivningscaféen have relatively the same age, the power of the first ones is regarded more as an act of care, leading their relationship towards a friendly one. For example, in case a user recurs - this being strongly shown by his absence at the cafeteria - the social pedagogue gives him a home call, to check if he is feeling well, and to let him know that he is welcome to drop by the next day. The pedagogues, though, don’t have any sort of power when it comes to administrative decisions regarding the schedule of the cafeteria, this also being a social construction, because of the inter-subjective reality of the users, next to the pedagogues’ powerlessness. Given the fact that the relationship between the pedagogue and the adult is taken to another level, the respect is very obvious in the way they interact.
Responsibility
Responsibility is based on a set of ethical and moral standards. For the pedagogue, it’s not only implied by the profession, but it is also a feature of the human being inside the pedagogue. In addition to that, pedagogues have responsibility towards their colleagues, in the way they help and support each other, or reflect on each other’s decisions. Last, but not least, the entire social system has to provide pedagogues and users with the assurance that all the high level decisions are made in their best interests. Therefore the main purpose of the professional pedagogue is to lead the client towards a better understanding of the way society works, while acting according to the rules implied.
The system provides the institution with a general guideline framework, but in the same time, leaves room for each institution to interpret and create rules according to their own needs. In the same time, the system plays a very important role in co-financing the institution along with the parent’s contribution. A high responsibility is also present between the pedagogues in the nursery, by leaving notes on the white board, with the essential information about the events of that day, and how should it reflect upon the activity of the following one. Also, when general decisions are to be made, they schedule common meetings, sometimes even outside the working hours. Moreover, they have the duty to inform the institution whenever they are sick or just not able to show up for work, in order to have someone replace them. When concerning the children, the pedagogues must find the way to keep them safe, but in the mean time keep the necessary distance to give them freedom of choice. In addition to that, they also have to have a sane moral conduct, in order to be a role model for the youngsters. When it comes to teaching children what responsibility is, the pedagogues use the following methods: they encourage the big ones to teach the younger ones some easy tasks, such as washing hands, throwing away their own used diapers, or playing more advanced games.
The social system works closely with the youth club, due to the age of the users. This means that it engages more resources, such as street workers, the club itself, and the police. There is a close relationship between these three sides of the system, thus revealing its elasticity. The system also contributes to the financing of the club, along with the parents. The main goal of this three sided relationships is to prevent crime by giving the kids a place to have a good time, instead of being on the streets. It is also a place where they can find comfort if they have a hard time, no matter the reason. Speaking about the relationship between the pedagogues, I must say that one of their main responsibilities is to maintain a level of equality even between the manager and other pedagogues. They also have to participate as often as possible in the daily meetings, discussing approaches and problems that occur both in the club and in their personal lives. This means they are comfortable around each other, thus creating a steady and pleasant working environment, both for them, but for the kids as well. When it comes to the responsibility of the pedagogues towards the kids, there is a broader discussion. It may be that they have to take certain actions in order to help the user or users feel better and comfortable, or they have to detach and let the users find answers for themselves. This requires a great amount of reflection. The users on the other hand, have a responsibility towards the pedagogues, but also towards the other children. They have to be respectful and aware that cultural differences may arise, so they can be open-minded. They are also responsible for the way they interpret and use the pedagogues’ advice, and should never be afraid or embarrassed to tell their story and problems.
The responsibility of the system towards society plays an active role, by performing activities that directly advance social goals. A community should have something to rely on, especially that part that needs special care because of various reasons. The responsibility of the society regarding the Radgivningscaféen is expressed by the fact that they have changed the strategy of dealing with people with an alcohol problem, meaning that they are trying to get the users to be more responsible about managing their own schedule outside the café, instead of sending a pedagogue every time to take care of them and to deal with the administrative issues. Furthermore, in trying to convince the authorities in charge that the Radgivningscaféen needs to be kept open, they came up with the idea of a counter-story involving a daily presence list regarding the number of people attending lunch, this being about cost-effectiveness. The pedagogues are members of an interdisciplinary team, that’s why they should contribute to the decisions that affect the well-being of the users. In Radgivningscaféen this is best shown by the meetings they have every Tuesday morning, where they are sharing with each other their impressions on what has happened during the last week, and also to keep the ones that were missing up to date with the latest news and reports. The pedagogue is responsible of making the users feel comfortable with themselves and with the other users, by making the environment in the café as casual as it can be. Taking into consideration the fact that the ones who use the Radgivningscaféen have an uncontrollable drive to drink, which brings negative effects on the drinker’s health, relationships and social standing, the most important responsibility that users have is that upon themselves. The users also have a responsibility towards the others and the pedagogues, meaning that they have to show sympathy, empathy and to respect each other’s personal space.
Aesthetics
“The aesthetic is a sensuous-symbolic form that is made on purpose, contains an interpretation of ourselves and our world and communicates from, to and about emotions. In order to be able to analyze the process as well as the product, we can use the following understanding of the concept of Aesthetics. Aesthetics deals with an aspect of all kinds of human life and creation of artifacts, production, design and communication – it has a cultural emphasis on human activities in societies or classes with a minimum of wealth, since it transcends simple, biological survival skills.” (3)
Cultural expression plays a very important part in shaping children’s future sense of aesthetics therefore the pedagogues in the nursery pay special attention to these values. An example of such expression is that they respect the Danish tradition on birthdays, adapting everything to their age level, such as small flags on the table, napkins and a small candle support in shape of a train. Also, to celebrate Christmas, the pedagogues work together with children in helping them built some simple handmade presents for their parents while telling them stories about Santa Claus. From time to time, they even take the bigger kids to a nearby church just to accommodate them with the interior and teach them to be silent and respectful. Creative skills are also shaped during nursery through various activities, such as performing Danish songs together with the kids, painting, drawing, clay modeling. The only way narratives apply in nursery activities is by the fact that pedagogues try to keep track of children’s family situation by asking them to tell them what they have been doing the previous evening.
Culture, as a part of Aesthetics, can be seen in the Youth Club especially in the way kids from different cultures dress or behave. All the immigrant kids follow almost the same “dress code” by having their pants tucked inside their socks, or by wearing sports equipment more often. Their behavior is more outgoing and they are a bit noisier than the Danish kids. The Danish kids, on the other hand, wear more stylish clothes and seem to be more relaxed and calm. Also, the different cultures make their mark on how kids see activities – boring or not, and also on their music preferences. Creativity is also present. It may be that girls weave bracelets, or it can be expressed by the boys on the football court inside the gym. It can also be expressed when kids cook for themselves – the mixture of flavors and spices betrays the creative nature of the cook. Narratives are also something that I have experienced inside the club, but only once. A boy started to call the immigrant kids “nigger” very often. When a pedagogue talked to him, he said that he had been beaten up by a bunch of immigrant kids, so that is why he is using this word. But the pedagogue explained to him that not all immigrant kids are the same, so his anger should be only against his attackers. The next day he stopped using the word.
Just because the pedagogues who work in the Radgivningscaféen have to deal only with adults, it doesn’t mean that they can’t fully take advantage of the phenomenon of aesthetic. One of the activities that they were strictly respecting was related to the happy traditional “happy birthday”, by cutting paper and coloring it in order to announce everybody about the special occasion. In addition to that they were also singing Danish songs, as a birthday present. The users express their creativity by reviewing books within the lecture group they have. There is more to creative subjects than that, they also read the paper together every morning and discuss political and social columns and they chose a movie to watch so they can discuss it after. I have experienced the effect of narratives when one of the users told me her life story. Blaming the alcohol problem for the hard life she led, she told me about her father’s death. Little did I know that she was lying, because after finding out what had actually killed her father, suicide not cancer, I understood the power of narratives, and how she is personally against suicide.
Conclusions
When interacting with the others, each person adapts his or her approach according to the age of the interlocutor. Social pedagogues are skilled and acquire competences in dealing with all kinds of users, from small children in nurseries, to people with disabilities or people with an alcohol problem. What they have learned is modeled and applied differently according to the users, not only as individuals, but also as a part of a certain age group. Social pedagogy is, therefore, a variety of skills and competences combined with a higher understanding of what a quality life should be. This paper embodies this aspect by presenting various situations which can survey in the profession of a social pedagogue and the used methods in working with people in care.
The individual approach concerning these three institutions tends to follow the same path, but it differs because of the age. It is more obvious in nursery, given the fact that small children require more attention in their development. Teenagers can be approached in the same way, but the rebellious side can soon take over, and they can reject any type of relationship. In adults this may seem un-problematic, but understanding the substrate of a relationship easier, they can suspect (often wrongly) that there might be a different intention. The individual approach uses the same basic steps, including the level of freedom regarding each institution, and keeps the substrate the same, but it changes when it comes to techniques supplied.
Powerlessness may strike as a lack of interest towards the user in a given institution, but it should not be taken lightly. It requires a massive amount of reflection and the pedagogue must master this concept perfectly. This means that he should understand the borders of the relationship, and the limits of the personal attachment.
Social pedagogy can be interpreted in many ways. In this paper we chose to classify the different kinds of responsibility into four specific levels that we think are the most relevant for social pedagogy. For the first two levels, system-society and pedagogue-pedagogue, responsibility is expressed in the same manner. The differences are revealed in the relationship between the pedagogue and the user, and also in the level of responsibility of the user. The pedagogues working with early-age children have a higher level of responsibility because of the impossibility of the users to take care of themselves. Along with age one has more and more responsibility because of his increased capacity of understanding, which leads to a different degree of independence.
Aesthetics is a part of life and it is expressed by anyone, regardless of age and culture. Creativity is something everyone wants to express, the only difference being the media of choice. Whether it is about dancing, singing, painting, playing soccer, or reviewing a book, age has nothing to do with it. Adults can be as passionate as youngsters when trying to express their feelings in a creative way. The only difference is that children act as if everything is a game, whereas adults play in order to escape the daily routine.
Based on our personal experience in the practice placements, we arrived at the conclusion that even though a concept is something we learn about during our studies, through theoretical means, the way to put it into practice is learned first-hand by dealing with real-life cases and we gain experience by reflecting upon the outcome of our decisions. We also learn how to adjust our behavior and how to approach users knowing their age and cultural background.
(1) Thomas Coram Research Unit, London University
(2) Jan Fook – Social Work: Critical Theory and Practice
(3) Eddy Thomsen – Pedagogy, Aesthetics and Narratives
