Defining Social Pedagogy: Historical, Theoretical and Practical Considerations

This paper deals with the problem of ambiguity in relation to the term social pedagogy. It portrays a picture with multiple theoretical drivers, including historical, epistemological and professional. The aim is to improve our understanding of the multifaceted nature of social pedagogy—a topical and complex issue. Both distinguishing and common denominators associated with different schools of thought are considered. The analysis shows that building a social pedagogical theory usually deals with the tension between a person's autonomy and modern society's requirements in the process of socialisation, and that social pedagogical theory is often being applied to alleviate social ills through education. Social pedagogy has been conceptualised as a science (a field of research and theory building), as a science-based occupational system of practices (a field of professional practice) and as a system of corresponding professional education (discipline).