Germany is the birthplace of pedagogy and important philosophic traditions have informed its development of social pedagogy. For example, the necessity of seeing the child within their own life world – Lebensweltorientierung – is important, as is the disposition, integrity and stance – or Haltung – adopted by the worker. The occupational title in residential care and early years work is Erzieher, from the concept Erziehung, which means pulling up or upbringing: this upbringing characterises the adult’s role in relation to the child.
Practice conditions vary across the German regions, which exercise a high degree of devolved power, and also between the former east and west Germany. Unification in 1991 has brought together different approaches to policy, training and practice.
Pedagogues often describe themselves as working with "heart, head and hands". The heart is a reference to the closeness of social relations that can develop between workers and young people, particularly when they live near each other.
One example of this was a Kinderhaus we visited. This was a house where a qualified pedagogue was asked to live with a group of siblings who needed to be kept together because of their family circumstances. She recruited one or two pedagogues to work with her and raised the children as a group, while retaining her own apartment on the premises. When she married and had children of her own, she continued to be responsible for the sibling group and remained committed to them throughout their childhood.
Reference to the head is to the use of reflective skills and to a body of theory to help assess the kind of action to take in particular circumstances. For the pedagogue there are no universal solutions. Instead, each situation requires a response based on a combination of information, emotions, self-knowledge and theory gained from study.
The hands refer to the involvement in the practical aspects of daily life, including the use of creative and practical skills as a medium for shared activities for developing social relations and providing educational opportunities. For example, a young person’s residential care worker might use practical activities, such as drama or music, to discuss sensitive issues such as racism or aggressive behaviour. Through practical activities, including holidays, pedagogues share the life of a group of children and young people. German residential care workers have remarked that the experience of rejection by birth families makes promoting a cohesive group life and a sense of belonging especially important for children in care.
There are three main levels of pedagogic training in Germany, all of which take place in further and higher educational institutions and on practice placements. Training is assessed through oral and written examinations.
The most basic level of qualification, available at 306 Fachschule – or vocational colleges – involves three or four years of training to work as an Erzieher in a range of settings, such as early years care and education or in residential care for young people.
Students beginning this course are usually 17 or 18 and have completed a lower level school-leaving certificate. The course emphasises experiential and practical learning through two six-month practice placements and an applied focus to theoretical work covering pedagogy and specific conditions, such as physical disability, speech and communication and mental health. Practical skills, such as gymnastics and art therapy, are taught to address special needs of children and young people.
Many early years and residential care workers hold this lower level qualification, but there is some concern that it is not sufficiently thorough to address the educational needs of these workers. However, it is seen as a good foundation for those students who go on to the next level of training, which is based at one of the 40 Fachhochschule, or universities of applied sciences. This is a four-year degree level diploma in social pedagogy organised into eight semesters, broadly based and qualifying the graduate to work in a range of services, including residential care with young people, where it is the preferred qualification.
Semesters initially cover social pedagogy, psychology and education as well as professional and practical skills, including methods of communication, photography, drama, sports and other leisure activities. The student then specialises in areas such as family counselling or youth offending. There are three practice placements, one of which may be overseas.
Finally, about 30 universities offer a degree in social pedagogy, which generally includes nine semesters over four years, but can take in up to 21 semesters over 10 years. A Diplom-Sozialpädagoge qualifies the graduate to work in managerial or supervisory positions rather than directly with children. There is a theoretical orientation to the course, including the history of pedagogical theory, educational theory and comparative studies and optional specialist modules, such as social administration, psychiatry and a branch of pedagogy concerned with preventive work and rehabilitation in youth welfare.
There are three practice placements, but these are shorter than in the Fachhochschule. Alongside examinations, students write a diploma thesis and a reflective account of a placement which is independently assessed.
Although the training in social pedagogy takes place at three levels, there are some commonalities. These include: working with a range of theoretical and therapeutic frameworks; the development of professional skills in working with individuals and groups; an emphasis on practical and creative skills and using practice placements to develop experience of the field of child welfare as well as opportunities for developing reflective skills.
Claire Cameron is a researcher at Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London. Additional material was supplied by fellow researcher Janet Boddy.
Further Reading
J Boddy, C Cameron, E Heptinstall, S McQuail and P Petrie,
Working with Children: Social Pedagogy and Residential Child
Care in Europe, report to the Department of Health, 2001
P Petrie, Pedagogy – A Holistic, Personal Approach to Work with Children and Young People, across Services, European Models for Practice, Training, Education and Qualification, briefing paper for the Department for Education and Skills, 2004