New issue of the Portuguese Journal of Educational Research dedicated to Social Pedagogy and Social Education

Wednesday, January 29, 2025 - 11:33

Issue 29 of the Portuguese Journal of Educational Research is dedicated to the crucial topic of “Social Pedagogy and Social Education”. The issue, made up of eight peer-reviewed scientific articles, highlights the importance of social pedagogy in the current panorama of educational sciences.

In a socio-educational context that often emphasises individual competitiveness and a technical approach to education, this issue underlines the need to refocus on the relational dimension of education, on its human and transformative encounter.

As Isabel Baptista, a reference in the field of social pedagogy in Portugal, points out in the introduction to this issue: "pedagogical-social rationality is characterised by its intrinsically relational character, which refers, at an essential level, to the experience of intersubjective acceptance lived in the educational relationship, as a transformative human encounter carried out by professionals duly qualified for this purpose, the social pedagogues.”

These professionals, working with people of all ages and in different institutional and community contexts, "have been at the forefront of processes of formation and identity affirmation, which it is important to highlight in the context of fulfilling the universal right to education and promoting conditions for inclusive, just and supportive human and social development," she says.

The professional practice of social pedagogues

The magazine offers different perspectives on the professional practice of social pedagogues. In her article, Ana Camões draws an important conclusion: “the urgent need for more robust investment in appropriate training programmes that not only improve professional practice, but also strengthen the identity and ethical capacity of social educators, in line with the principles of social justice and equity”.

Cláudia Gigante, for her part, stresses that "the inclusion of social pedagogy in teacher training fosters awareness of social issues, produces professionals who are better prepared to deal with diversity and strengthens the role of the school as an agent of social change". This articulation between school and social pedagogy is crucial for equitable and inclusive education.

Rita Valente analyses the perceptions of social pedagogues "on relational values in the context of pedagogical leadership guided by the value of hospitality" and presents the results of a study on how these values are experienced and perceived as "qualities of pedagogical leadership in social pedagogical institutions".

The social educator as a bridge builder

Ana Prada, Rosa Novo and Carla Lima contribute a reflection on “the role of the social educator as a facilitator of bridges and connections that stimulate the development of socio-emotional competences in children and young people”. The authors argue that the social educator, overcoming "a purely technical and recreational perspective", is "currently recognised for its broader and more sustainable social and pedagogical work, contributing to the new dimensions and broader functions that school education requires".

In another article, Fernando Guedes discusses the impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on the training of social educators, pointing out that it allows "the personalisation of content, the automation of tasks and the creation of educational simulations". However, it stresses that “ethical and operational challenges arise, such as data protection, algorithmic bias and lack of regulation”. The article proposes a training model based on ethical integration and pedagogical innovation and identifies strategies to maximise the potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence in social education.

Arthur Vianna Ferreira presents the results of a study on "initial teacher training, the pretexts provided by the legislation for the organisation of higher education curricula for bachelor's degrees, and the constraints and advances that help or do not help social educators to remain in these teacher training spaces" in Brazil.

Finally, Manuela Silva and Ana Fontes present the results of a study on “Prejudice and discrimination in a feminised profession”, based on the perceptions of students of social education courses. The results show the predominance of women in social pedagogy courses, although students do not perceive this as an exclusively female field. The authors conclude that “the devaluation of the profession of social educator is mainly due to issues related to professional identity and the diversity of intervention areas and is therefore not specifically linked to the feminisation of the profession”.

This issue of the magazine offers multiple perspectives that enrich the debate on the present and future of education, and not only on the specific field of social pedagogy.

As Isabel Baptista points out, “social pedagogues are at the forefront of fulfilling the universal right to education”, because they bring to education the possibility and capacity to universally welcome “learners in the fullness of their otherness”.