Resumen de Social Pedagogy and Social Work in the UK: the meeting of two cultures as seen from a continental European perspective
Verónica Pérez, Simon Thomas Johr
The aim of the paper is to understand how social pedagogy could be integrated within the professional social care field in the UK. It looks at social pedagogy relationship with social work through the unique experience that social pedagogues from different parts of Europe[1] had during the Head, Heart, Hands programme (HHH)[2], led by The Fostering Network. The programme aimed to demonstrate how introducing social pedagogy into foster care could have a positive impact on British fostering services. Social pedagogy strives to understand the sociological context and how this can influence the professional practice, impact our and others thinking and actions. The common thread is to explore the encounter of the two cultures that happened throughout the national programme and the learning and reflections that stemmed from it. To enthuse and benefit the wide range of professionals that work in the field of social care in general and fostering in particular, providing some ‘food for thought’ and concrete ideas on how social pedagogy can be integrated with social work to contribute to improve the quality of care in the UK.
