The Emerging Social Pedagogical Paradigm in UK Child and Youth Care: Deus Ex Machina or Walking the Beaten Path?

Abstract

This article is prompted by the finding that social pedagogy—although not a familiar concept in the UK—is now being taken up with greater interest ( Petrie et al., 2006; Lorenz, 2008), especially in the field of early childhood education and residential child and youth care. Social pedagogy is believed to be able to promote shared values and skills across different fields in education and care that were, until recently, sharply distinguished from each other (Petrie, 2005). In this article, we reflect on the recent developments in the import of social pedagogy into the UK. Next, we comment on the assumed potential of the concept of social pedagogy. In connection with these comments, we make a plea for explicit recognition of ‘the social’ in social pedagogy. We endorse the historical reflections on German social pedagogy made by Lorenz (2008) and will add some considerations driven by our involvement with the development of social pedagogy in the UK. In the final discussion, we highlight the potential of social pedagogy as a perspective on social work (cf. Hämäläinen, 2003).