“Reality only emerges through dialogue.”
Heinz v. Foerster, Austrian constructivist
Facilitation: ThemPra Social Pedagogy C.I.C.
Organisers: NCERCC, ThemPra, TCRU, Jacaranda, FICE-England
our idea …
In our effort to support the construction of a British tradition of social pedagogy, we would like to bring together the various social pedagogy pioneers across the country. We believe that the links between these pioneers and the sharing of their experiences is very important for the further development of a cohesive approach to social pedagogy.
An implementation of social pedagogy can only be successful where it follows underpinning social pedagogic principles of working in partnership, learning from each other, engaging in dialogue, valuing diversity and building strong relationships. With the Social Pedagogy Implementation Network we hope to bring these principles to life by providing an opportunity for dialogue and learning.
… becomes reality …
The network provides an excellent forum to connect those who have already been active in implementing social pedagogy or eager to do so, with invitations going out to the UK child care sector through the organisers and at the NCERCC conference.
To keep the development of social pedagogy diverse and colourful, we want to enable as many organisations as possible to be part of this dialogue. Therefore places are free but limited to 2 delegates per organisation/local authority. A total of 60 places will be available.
Essex County Council have offered to host the first network event, and NCERCC will provide the finances to kick-start the network. After this it is hoped that organisations agree to host an event, providing a venue and refreshments for the day.
The first full-day SPIN event will take place on Thursday, 27 November 2009 and aim to:
- Agree on a structure for further SPIN events
- Begin to identify what issues are important for the development of social pedagogy at this time
- Generate interest in and understanding of various developments
- Give ownership to the group by considering who can contribute in what form
… and could become even more …
The network also offers potential to spin off into workshops to explore particular themes around social pedagogy and their application to existing practice, identify opportunities for international exchanges through FICE network and EU funding, share and develop practical pedagogic ideas, and analyse the relationship between social pedagogy and various existing approaches to practice such as restorative practice, resilience, therapeutic child care, etc.