Abstract

Social pedagogy is a well-established profession across Europe and Latin America and can be described as an ethical, theoretical and practice orientation for engaging with
individuals receiving support from welfare services. In the UK, despite the emergence of a small yet significant network of individuals and organisations trained and practicing social pedagogy over the past fifteen years, the field remains largely unrecognised and often misunderstood within UK social work. Drawing on a book, four book chapters, four
articles and an independent evaluation report, this thesis highlights the significance and originality of the body of published work in two key areas. The first is the teaching of social pedagogy within social work educational settings in the UK and abroad. The second is in advancing the understanding of social pedagogy within the social work field, for both practitioners and students to support the implementation of effective, relationship-based practice.

At its core, social pedagogy emphasises ethical relational practice, grounded in robust theories, concepts, and methods that foster relationships, enabling individuals to acquire the skills necessary to navigate their environments and make positive contributions to their communities. The increasing interest in and recognition of relationship-based practice in contemporary social work in the UK over the last five years, as evidenced by key independent reviews of children’s services in Scotland in 2020 and England in 2022, underscores the relevance of these publications. The published works examined in this thesis introduce social pedagogical theory and practice to social work education and the profession, providing a comprehensive framework for cultivating meaningful and ethical relationship-based practice.

While contemporary social work education acknowledges the importance of relationships in practice, there has been a notable lack of in-depth exploration or teaching on the
complexities and realities of this approach. For example, power dynamics between ‘service users’ and social workers are often overlooked or examined mainly through a macro lens. While it is vital to consider structural issues like marginalisation, institutional racism, and poverty, this focus can obscure the more subjective, relational aspects of power, how it is experienced and enacted in everyday interactions. This body of published works fills this gap by demonstrating how social pedagogy can effectively inform the teaching and training of social work students and practitioners, creating vital opportunities for learners to deepen their knowledge and skills in this practice approach. These significant contributions are informed by extensive personal experience in teaching and training social work students and qualified social workers, as well as involvement in research and independent evaluation projects. I describe the ways in which this body of work has been an essential resource for the ongoing recognition, development and implementation of social pedagogy as a transformative and necessary ethical, theoretical and practice orientation within the social work profession.