Social Pedagogy in Germany – Contemporary Problems and Trends

This article explores the problems in the development of social pedagogy in Germany over the last three decades, analysing the features and trends in three directions: social pedagogy as a science, as a professional field and as the training of professionals. The main social pedagogical theories are analysed in the context of their common descriptive and normative aspects. The problems of the expanding field of realization of social pedagogy as a profession and the peculiarities in the training of specialists in the united specialty Sociale Arbeit are highlighted.