Sociální pedagogika | Social Education 71
volume 6, issue 2, pp. 71–73, November 2018
ISSN 1805-8825
Information
Associations of Social Pedagogy as evidence of development
of Social Pedagogy in Europe
Jakub Hladík7
Slovak Association of Social Pedagogues established in June 2018 is probably the newest association
within social pedagogy in Europe. Together with Association of Educators in Social Pedagogy
(established in the Czech Republic in March 2013), the Slovak association represents evidence of social
pedagogy development in the Central Europe. The development and promotion of social pedagogy as
a practical activity or science is the common aim of majority of national or international associations
in Europe. This is their important common attribute.
Slovak Association of Social Pedagogues was founded at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica as the
outcome of long-term effort towards development of Slovak social pedagogy by the team of prof.
Jolana Hroncová who is the president of the association. The members of this association are mostly
social pedagogues practicing at elementary schools, non-profit organizations and academic staff at
universities. The main aim of this association is to associate persons that participate on the university
education of social pedagogues in the field of theory, methodology and further education; to associate
graduate social pedagogues practicing at schools, institutions of educational counselling and risk
behaviour prevention. The specific aims of Slovak Association of Social Pedagogues are: promotion of
social pedagogy study programs development; cooperating on preparation and realisation of research
and educational projects with domestic and foreign partners; initiation of legislative activities focused
on the increase of social pedagogues’ prestige (“Občianske združenie,” 2018).
Five years earlier before Slovak association, Czech Association of Educators in Social Pedagogy was
founded. This organisation associates university teachers participating on education in social pedagogy
study programs. Every faculty in the Czech Republic where the social pedagogy study program is
realised has a representative in this association. The president of the association is Jakub Hladík from
Tomas Bata University in Zlín. The most important aims of Association of Educators in Social Pedagogy
are: effort for social pedagogy development as a study program and science branch including
applications into practice; effort for promotion of social pedagogy as a single profession to the rule of
law; to create educational standards of social pedagogy as a study program; to create a platform for
cooperation among domestic and foreign educators in social pedagogy (“Asociace vzdělavatelů,”
However, these two associations promote social pedagogy especially in the Central Europe. There are
other organizations or associations in Europe within social pedagogy (e. g., in the UK, Denmark, Spain,
Portugal, Croatia).
International Association of Social Educators is an organisation of individual social educators, their
national organisations, related workplaces and educational institutions that work with developing the
profession of social educators and the underlying principles of practice. Benny Andersen is the
president. He is the president of Danish Federation of Social Educators too. The purpose of this
association is: to unite social educators from all countries and promote quality practice that seeks to
ensure the best for people served by the profession; to encourage the richness of diversity by
promoting co-operation of people of different backgrounds and cultures through the international
membership of the association; to contribute to the development of professional education and
7 In cooperation with social pedagogy students Anna Rebendová, Aneta Planetová and Martina Lipárová.
Hladík / Associations of Social Pedagogy as evidence of development of Social Pedagogy…
training to increase the competence of all social educators; to promote the organization of the social
education profession and encourage networking among association members to increase international
collaboration; to emphasize professional practice and educational methods based on the United
Nation’s declarations of human and children’s rights (“Objectives,” 2018).
The Social Pedagogy Professional Association is the UK association which supports and endorses social
pedagogy qualifications and practice in the work environment. Professor Claire Cameron is the chief
executive officer. The overall aim is to improve support of children, young people and adults, many of
whom live in disadvantaged circumstances or are vulnerable. The main aims of this association are: to
promote the best practice on theory and practice of social pedagogy; to work towards professionalising
social pedagogy and to support organisations that are equipping workers with training to provide
better care for disadvantaged people across the lifespan; to develop and to provide continuous
professional development opportunities for social pedagogues through events, learning days,
webinars, online communities, and resources; to enable social pedagogues, social pedagogy
practitioners and those with professional interest in social pedagogy to share knowledge and
experience, to connect with and support each other through various platforms (“What we do,” 2018).
Consejo General de Colegios oficiales de Educadoras y Educadores Sociales is Spanish association which
is among others focused on social pedagogy. The objectives are: to promote the social and professional
appreciation of educators, social educators and social education; to promote and cooperate in the
development of professional associations in the autonomous, state and international spheres; to
define the profession of social educators; to establish the professional competencies and status of the
social educators (“Presentación,” 2018).
In Portugal, Associação dos Profissionais Técnicos Superiores de Educação Social was founded. The
main objective is to promote and deepen the associative spirit among social education professionals,
represent their interests and ensure their rights. In addition, it proposes to contribute to the
improvement of professionals and to develop information at all levels, thereby promoting national and
international cooperation with their counterparts or related entities (“Quem Somos,” 2018).
I will mention the last example of an association which is focused on promoting and developing social
pedagogy in Europe. It is Croatian Association of Social Pedagogues which has been a member of
International Association of Social Educators since 2010. The aims of the association are: development
and promotion of social pedagogy; improving social pedagogical practices; professional development
of social pedagogues; research work in the field of social pedagogy (“Dokumenti HUSP-a,” 2018).
The associations are important part of social pedagogy development on the national and international
level. The need of associate practitioners, scholars and students is still topical. It brings obvious
advantages like experience sharing, cooperation for issues promotion and open discussions.
References
Občianske združenie Asociácia sociálnych pedagógov. (2018, November 2). ASPg. Retrieved from:
https://www.pdf.umb.sk/katedry/katedra-pedagogiky/obcianske-zdruzenie-asociacia-
Objectives. (2018, November 2). AIEJI. Retrieved from http://aieji.net/about/objectives/
Quem
Somos.
(2018,
November
5).
APTSES.
Retrieved
from
http://www.aptses.pt/aptses/quemsomos.html.
Asociace vzdělavatelů v sociální pedagogice. (2018, November 2). AVSP. Retrieved from
Presentación.
(2018,
November
5).
CGCEES.
Retrieved
from
http://www.eduso.net/cgcees/presentacion/fines.htm
Hladík / Associations of Social Pedagogy as evidence of development of Social Pedagogy…
What we do. SPPA vision and aims (2018, November 2). SPPA. Retrieved from http://sppa-
Dokumenti HUSP-a. (2018, November 2). HUSP. Retrieved from http://husp.hr/hr/dokumenti
Jakub Hladík
Faculty of Humanities, Tomas Bata University in Zlin