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,”

2018).

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.

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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-

socialnych-pedagogov/.

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

http://asocped.cz/

Presentación.

(2018,

November

5).

CGCEES.

Retrieved

from

http://www.eduso.net/cgcees/presentacion/fines.htm

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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-

uk.org/what-we-do/

Dokumenti HUSP-a. (2018, November 2). HUSP. Retrieved from http://husp.hr/hr/dokumenti

Jakub Hladík

Faculty of Humanities, Tomas Bata University in Zlin

Table of Contents

(“Občianske združenie,” 2018).

s (“What we do,” 2018).