Social Pedagogy Training Pack

SOCIAL PEDAGOGY SEMINARS
Building a Pedagogic Workforce in
Residential Child Care

SEMINAR PORTFOLIO

Facilitation: Sylvia Holthoff & Gabriel
Eichsteller
contact: syl-hol@web.de gabriel@eichsteller.com

CHEADLE
May 22 & 23, 2007
June 27 & 28, 2007
July 24 & 25, 2007

Social Pedagogy Seminars

Table of Content

Mount ...................................................................................................................................................3
Pedagogy...............................................................................................................................................3
What is (social) pedagogy?..................................................................................................................4
Pedagogic Thinkers..............................................................................................................................6
Salutogenesis......................................................................................................................................16
Sense of Coherence............................................................................................................................16
The 4 Pedagogic Styles.......................................................................................................................19
Feedback.............................................................................................................................................25
Active Listening..................................................................................................................................26
Children’s Rights...............................................................................................................................45
Empowerment.....................................................................................................................................71
Attachment Theory.............................................................................................................................74
The 3 P’s – the professional, personal, and private pedagogue.......................................................76
The Zone of Proximal Development..................................................................................................85
Vignettes.............................................................................................................................................88
Achieving Emotional Well-Being....................................................................................................102
Happiness and Flow.........................................................................................................................102
Excerpt from:...................................................................................................................................102
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). If we are so rich, why aren’t we happy? American Psychologist,
54(10). 821-827.................................................................................................................................102
SMTTE model..................................................................................................................................108
Context..............................................................................................................................................109
Aims..................................................................................................................................................109
Initiative............................................................................................................................................109
Signs..................................................................................................................................................109
Evaluation........................................................................................................................................109
The Common Third..........................................................................................................................110
The Pedagogic Triangle...................................................................................................................111

May – July 2007 Sylvia Holthoff & Gabriel Eichsteller


Mount
Pedagogy



What is (social) pedagogy?
Etymology:
The word pedagogy stems from the Greek pais: child, and agein: to lead, bring up.

British interpretations:
Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC)
‘The pedagogical approach rests on an image of a child as a complex social being with rich
and extraordinary potential, rather than as an adult-in-waiting who needs to be given the
right ingredients for optimal development. […] For pedagogues there is no universal
solution, each situation requires a response based on a combination of information,
emotions, self-knowledge and theory.’

Petrie et al. (2006, p22) found nine principles of a pedagogic approach:
• ‘A focus on the child as a whole person, and support for the child’s overall development;
• The practitioner seeing herself/himself as a person, in relationship with the child or
young person;
• Children and staff are seen as inhabiting the same life space, not as existing in separate
hierarchical domains;
• As professionals, pedagogues are encouraged constantly to reflect on their practice and
to apply both theoretical understandings and self-knowledge to the sometimes
challenging demands with which they are confronted;
• Pedagogues are also practical, so their training prepares them to share in many aspects
of children’s daily lives and activities;
• Children’s associative life is seen as an important resource: workers should foster and
make use of the group;
• Pedagogy builds on an understanding of children’s rights that is not limited to
procedural matters or legislated requirements;
• There is an emphasis on team work and on valuing the contribution of others in
“bringing up” children: other professionals, members of the local community and,
especially, parents;
• The centrality of relationship and, allied to this, the importance of listening and
communicating.’

Cannan et al. (1992, pp73) defined social pedagogy as ‘a perspective, including social action
which aims to promote human welfare through child-rearing and education practices; and
to prevent or ease social problems by providing people with the means to manage their own
lives, and make changes in their circumstances’.



Explanations by key thinkers in (social) pedagogy:
John Amos Comenius (1592 – 1670), Czech philosopher
The pedagogue as a gardener providing the nurturing conditions for the child’s nature
to unfold – as opposed to a sculptor who would form the child according to a certain
image.

Friedrich Diesterweg (1790 – 1866), Prussian educational thinker
Social pedagogy is ‘educational action by which one aims to help the poor in society’.
The educational principle of natural evolution demands in the educational field: respect
for human nature and of the individual; its stimulation to full development, expression,
activity and initiative; natural, hence joyful, experience of life; stimulation to develop the
senses, strengthening the body, to explore, to be lucid and to discover things; providing
the minds with suitable nourishment; constant progress.
It forbids: arbitrary assumptions and manipulations of human nature; any
encouragement to act blindly and mechanically; any kind of drill; rote learning;
uniformity; force-feeding with subject matter that is not understood etc.

Karl Mager (1810 – 1858), German ‘founding father’ of social pedagogy
Social pedagogy as a theory of all the personal, social and moral education in a given
society, including the description of what has happened in practice.

Paul Natorp (1854 – 1924), German philosopher
Social pedagogy as an educational endeavour that sees the individual and society as being
in relation to each other, as referring to each other. Social pedagogy aims at encouraging a
strong sense of community and fighting to close the gap between rich and poor. It
attempts to influence the social system and to optimise it.

Gertrud Bäumer (1873 – 1953), German women’s rights advocate
The term social pedagogy does not indicate a principle which underpins pedagogy as a
whole but a specific sector: everything that is education but neither takes place at school
nor in families.

Janusz Korczak (1878 – 1942), Polish pedagogue and paediatrician
‘I prefer the word pedagogue to teacher. A teacher is someone paid by the hour to drill
something into the child, while a pedagogue draws something out. If you want to be a
pedagogue you have to learn to talk with children instead of to them. You have to learn to
trust their capacities and possibilities.’

Klaus Mollenhauer (1928 – 1998), German social pedagogue
Social pedagogy includes an element of social criticism.



Pedagogic Thinkers
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827)

‘I wish to wrest education from the outworn order of doddering old teaching hacks as
well as from the new-fangled order of cheap, artificial teaching tricks, and entrust it to
the eternal powers of the hearts of fathers and mothers, to the interests of parents who
desire their children grow up in favour with God and with men’

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was born in 1746 in Zurich, Switzerland.
He was one of the first and most important pedagogic philosophers
who described education as a holistic process. His emphasis was not
on teaching children ready-made answers, but on educating them in a
way that they are able to arrive at answers themselves. This means
more than intellectual education, which was for Pestalozzi only part of
a wider plan – it means ‘cultivating’ the children’s own powers of
seeing, judging and reasoning and encouraging their self-activity and
spontaneity.

Pestalozzi’s father died when he was five. From then on he was brought up by his mother
and a maid. With both he experienced a close and loving relationship. At the University of
Zurich he associated himself with the party of reform. His earliest years were spent in
schemes in improving the conditions of people in general. The death of a friend turned him
from politics and induced him to devote himself to education. His initial influence on the
development of thinking about pedagogy owes much to the book ‘How Gertrude teaches
her children’, which he published in 1801, and the fact that he carried his proposals through
into practice.
He founded orphanages in Neuhof, Stans and Clindy where neglected and poor children
were educated and instructed how to work, for example weaving and spinning. Because of
various reasons these ‘projects’ unfortunately never existed for a long period of time. In the
years between running the orphanages he started publishing stories in which he expressed
his views of society. Later he turned to teaching and founded the ‘Pestalozzi Institute’ in
Yverdon. This existed for twenty years and at last Pestalozzi was able to put his approach in
to practice and prove its worth. But unfortunately also this project came to an end while he
was still alive. Due to quarrels among the teachers the good reputation was spoilt and the
institute was closed two years prior his death in 1827.

Pedagogic ideas:
It was Pestalozzi’s aim to establish a ‘psychological method of instruction’ that was in line
with the ‘laws of human nature’: ‘where nature has influence and the child is well and truly
guided by her, she develops the child’s heart, mind and body in harmonious unity’.
Pestalozzi saw it as one of the key roles of the pedagogue to keep the three elements of the
‘head, heart, and hands’ in equilibrium. Today this holistic approach is known as the
‘Pestalozzi Method’.
Education of the ‘head’, or intellectual education, did for Pestalozzi not consist of ‘teaching
pupils about thought, but to forming their capacity to think’. Instead of imposing
knowledge on the children, pedagogues should stimulate the children and arouse their
curiosity of world around them. The ‘heart’ and its moral education were for Pestalozzi of
the highest importance, ‘for, without it, the other types would lose their sense of direction’.
Pestalozzi saw the education of the heart as the basic aim of education: ‘the elevation of


ourselves to a sense of the inner dignity of our nature, and of the pure, higher, godly being,
which lies within us. This sense is not developed by the power of our mind in thought, but
is developed by the power of our heart in love.’ For Pestalozzi, moral education aimed to
convey Christian values to the children, which meant that the pedagogue had to live these
values. Consequently, Pestalozzi abolished caning in his institution. Pestalozzi also realised
that children learn through physical activities, as ‘physical experiences give rise to mental
and spiritual ones’. Consequently, his method paid special attention to the ‘hands’ – or
more exactly the whole body – as understanding the world, being in direct contact with the
world and grasping things. He emphasized the importance of tactile perception and pointed
out that physical education also contributed to a healthy development.

The three elements ‘head, heart, and hands’ are inseparable from each other in Pestalozzi’s
method. ‘Nature forms the child as an indivisible whole, as a vital organic unity with many
sided moral, mental, and physical capacities. Each of these capacities is developed through
and by means of the others,’ Pestalozzi stated.
To be educative in a holistic sense, Pestalozzi demanded that learning be based on the
individual child’s understanding, on ‘close observation of children and on deep insight into
the way a child’s mind works and develops’. This form of reflective practice is stated in his
doctrine of Anschauung, of direct observation. Through observation, the pedagogue aims
to ‘find out the capacities of each individual child’ and to support him in his unique natural
development. Hence observation is needed, because it is not the pedagogue who forms the
child; the potentiality of each child is implemented by nature as ‘a little seed contains the
design of a tree’. And the pedagogue’s role is to take care ‘that no untoward influence shall
disturb nature’s march of developments’.

Pestalozzi’s child-centred approach especially emphasises the relationship between the
pedagogue and child. Describing love as ‘the sole, the everlasting foundation’ for education
without which ‘neither the physical not the intellectual powers [would] develop naturally’,
Pestalozzi assumed that without a satisfying, especially emotional, acceptance of the child
all pedagogy would fail – something we would nowadays call ‘openness’, ‘empathy’, and
‘affection’.

Nearly two centuries after the death of Pestalozzi his formulated method of the ‘head, heart
and hands’ can be found in other definitions of holistic education. Studies with Danish and
German pedagogues show that these terms are still key words used to describe a pedagogic
working style – and they also demand that pedagogues work with ‘head, heart, and hands’,
use their cognitive, physical and emotional skills.
Pestalozzi is also relevant for current practice, because he fought for social justice and was
committed to working ‘with those who have suffered within society. He saw education as
central to the improvement of social conditions’. This shows that there is much brilliance
and relevance to be found in Pestalozzi’s thought. Pedagogues, and among them youth
workers, must not forget his initiative; moreover they should cherish his ideas by applying
them in everyday-practice. Surely, these ideas cannot be put into the contemporary context
of pedagogy without reflection – but then, it was Pestalozzi himself who demanded
reflective practice.

Further readings:
The key text is the ‘classic’ Pestalozzi text on education
Pestalozzi, J.H. (1894): How Gertrude teaches her children, translated by Lucy, E. Holland
and Frances C. Turner. Edited with an introduction by Ebenezer Cooke.
London: Swan Sonnenschein


The standard English language treatment is:
Silber, K. (1965). Pestalozzi: The man and his work
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul



Pedagogic Thinkers
Maria Montessori (1870 – 1952)

‘The essential thing is for the task to arouse such an interest
that it engages the child's whole personality’
(Maria Montessori in ‘The Absorbent Mind’, p206)

The figure of Maria Montessori stands out above most of
those who were involved in the New Education movement,
and her pedagogic method is still being followed today. Born
in Chiaravalle, Italy, Maria Montessori was the first woman
to obtain a degree in medicine at the University of Rome.
During her work for the University’s Psychiatric Clinic,
where she was responsible for the care of mentally disabled
children – the ‘ineducable’ – she developed a coherent
method in order to educate them. A main source of her
inspiration was Itard, who famously tried to civilize the
savage boy found in the forests of Aveyron in France by
stimulating and developing his senses. Her principle for
educating mentally disabled children – first the education of
the senses, then the education of the intellect – also informed
her general educational programme, which she developed and tried while running the Casa
dei Bambini, the first Children’s Home, built as part of the development of a Roman slum
quarter, San Lorenzo to educate the neighbourhood’s children. This house in San Lorenzo
was the beginning of a kind of renaissance movement that served to renew belief in the
betterment of mankind by means of education. The home and those that followed were
designed to provide a good environment for children to live and learn, where everything
was adapted to the children and their specific attitudes and perspectives: cupboards, tables
and chairs, but also colour, sound and architecture.
With Rousseau, who had strongly argued for educating in harmony with nature,
Montessori shared his criticism of education and the general treatment of children by
stating: ‘It is essential to let nature have its own way as far as possible; the more freedom
children are allowed to develop, the quicker and more perfectly they will attain higher
forms and functions’.

Pedagogic Concept:
Maria Montessori built her pedagogic concept upon the idea that children develop and
think differently to adults; that they are not merely ‘adults in small bodies’. In her eyes they
were competent beings capable of self-directed learning. She considered infancy as the
sensitive phase and thus as a unique opportunity to encourage positive development, as
children under six possessed an ‘absorbent mind’ – limitless motivation to achieve
competence within their environment and to perfect skills and understandings.
Montessori understood that internally motivated learning required other than traditional
measurements of achievement, such as grades or tests – negative competition that is
damaging to the inner growth of children. Feedback and qualitative analysis of a child’s
performance were generally provided otherwise – in the form of a list of skills, activities
and critical points, and sometimes a narrative of the child’s achievements, strengths and
weaknesses, with emphasis on the improvement of those weaknesses.


The basic concept behind Montessori’s method was that of providing children with a
suitable environment in which they would gain self-determination and self-realization. Her
hands-on approach to learning encouraged children to develop their observation skills by
doing many types of activities, including use of the five senses, kinetic movement, spatial
refinement, small and large motor skill coordination, and concrete knowledge that lead to
later abstraction. Important part for the self-directed learning at a child’s individual pace
were didactic materials which allowed for the activities to be methodically coordinated so
that the children could easily see their success.
Montessori designed her method to encourage independence and freedom within limits
and responsibility. Freedom and discipline interacted, and the basic tenet was that neither
one could be achieved without the other. In her view, discipline was not something imposed
from the outside, but a constant intrinsic challenge to become worthy of freedom. She
systematically developed exercises in patience, exactness and repetition that were aimed to
strengthen the powers of concentration. It was important that these exercises be done each
day within the context of some real ‘task’ and not as mere games or busy work. They were
rounded out by practice in being still and meditating, so that they would serve the
development of attitudes instead of just practical abilities.
The Montessori Method states that satisfaction, contentment and joy result from the child
feeling like a full participant in daily activities. As a children’s right adcovate, Montessori
had her children participate actively in the shaping of their environment as well as of its
rules and principles of order, and in this way justice was thoroughly done to the idea of
moral autonomy.

Montessori was among the first to try and establish a true science of education. Her
approach was to introduce the ‘science of observation’, of observing the natural
phenomenon of development. Montessori’s faith in man’s potential, which is increased by
means of the ‘absorbent mind’ when the correct educational methods are employed, is one
of the cornerstones of her theory of education. The second important aspect is the attempt
to mould this process in a spirit of scientific responsibility and to discover the weaknesses
and turning points of human development in order to direct it better. This ‘development is
a series of successive births’, as Montessori wrote.
She sought to influence the world in a controlled way through the harmonious combination
of theory and practice; she looked for the confirmation of her theories in practice and
shaped her practice according to scientific principles, thus achieving perfection.

Montessori’s method has been criticised as being too restrictive and not adequately
emphasising social interaction and development. John Dewey believed that the Montessori
Method stifled creativity. However, current science has proven many assumptions and
beliefs of Maria Montessori right, and her method is still highly successfully practiced in
schools around the world.

further readings:
Lillard, A. S. (2005). Montessori : the science behind the genius. Oxford: University Press.
Röhrs, H. (1994). Maria Montessori. In Z. Morsy (ed.). Thinkers on Education, Vol. 3.
Paris: UNESCO. Available online: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/ThinkersPdf/
montesse.pdf
Smith, M. K. (1997). Maria Montessori. Available online:
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-mont.htm



Pedagogic Thinkers
Janusz Korczak (1878 – 1942)

‘Children are not the people of tomorrow, but are people of today.
They have a right to be taken seriously, and to be treated with tenderness
and respect.
They should be allowed to grow into whoever they were meant to be –
the unknown person inside each of them is our hope for the future.’

Janusz Korczak was born in 1878 as Henryk Goldsmit in a
wealthy Jewish district of Warsaw, Poland. Although Korczak
never developed a coherent pedagogic concept, his ideas and
thoughts about educating children and recognizing them as
equal human beings with own rights have reached many people
through his popular books for children and adults – hence his
style is often referred to as ‘narrative pedagogy’.
After his medical studies, Korczak worked as the residential
doctor in a Jewish children’s hospital, treating children with
warmth: it was not so much the medicine as the magic of Dr.
Goldszmit’s way with children that made them well. But he
recognized that as a doctor he could only treat symptoms, not
the cause for social illnesses. Influenced by Johann Pestalozzi
and Sigmund Freud, who promoted the new thinking about
children – the recognition of their worth, the need to regard
them for what they were – Korczak took on the post of running
a children’s home for Jewish orphans. Together with his companion Stefa Wilczyńska he
turned the home into the Children’s Republic: in the Children’s Parliament children were
making decisions about the everyday-life, the orphan’s newspaper was their forum to
express their thoughts and ideas and learn about the development in the orphanage, and
the Children’s Court ensured that nobody – not even staff – was above the Code of Law, a
code that stressed forgiveness. This created an atmosphere of joint responsibility and self-
responsibility, where children cared a lot about the opinions of their comrades and staff.
In 1940 the Jewish orphanage was forced to move into the Warsaw Ghetto, where Korczak
took on the everyday-fight for food and survival. On August 6, 1942, the Nazis deported the
orphans to Treblinka extermination camp. Declining various offers to save his own life,
Korczak went with his children into the gas chambers, guiding them in their darkest hour,
when they needed him most. As the famous Polish writer and journalist Marek Jaworski
wrote, ‘the bodies of Janusz Korczak and his children were burned. All that is left of them is
a handful of ashes and clouds of smoke, which the wind has scattered to the four corners of
the earth. However, with this smoke Korczak’s ideas circulate around the world – ideas
which nothing can destroy or consign to oblivion now’.

Pedagogic ideas:
Underpinning Korczak’s pedagogic ideas is a concept of children as human beings instead
of human becomings: ‘children don’t become human beings, they already are’.
Consequently they are entitled to own rights. Giving children rights meant for Korczak
primarily to respect children’s experiences, their difference, their individuality, and their
being a child. Hence the overarching right in Korczak’s declaration, the Magna Charta
Libertatis (1919), was the right to respect.


Under this frame, he formulated three key rights – ‘perhaps there are more, but I have
found these to be the principle rights’:
1) The right of the child to die.
2) The right of the child to live for today.
3) The right of the child to be what she or he is.
As Korczak said, out of fear that death could snatch away our child, we deprive him of life;
to avert his death we don’t really let him live. In this sense, the right to die puts the right to
a self-determined life, with all its risks and hazards, out of adults’ hands and in the hands of
the child. He pointed out that overprotection disregards the children’s right to freedom,
self-experience and self-determination; hence the right to die is ultimately the right to take
responsibility for one’s own life and death.
Korczak’s formulation of the child’s right to the present day means that ‘we should also
respect the present hour. How can we assure a child’s life in the future, if we have not yet
learned how to live consciously and responsibly in the present?’ It is not the pedagogue’s
task to influence the future fate of the child, but to ensure that the present day is ‘full of
happy efforts, child-like, carefree without a responsibility that exceeds the age and the
powers’.
Korczak’s demand that children be allowed to be who they are is also linked with this
concept of children as full persons, and his notion that we cannot expect from children to
be perfect. This right also calls for a relational approach, as it is our responsibility to get to
know the child.

A little later Korczak added that ‘the primary and indisputable right of the child is to
pronounce his thoughts and to take actively part in our considerations and decisions about
his person’. Characteristic for Korczak’s pedagogic approach is the radical involvement of
children: self-governing structures are at the heart of his education system, ensuring that
the basis for a discourse between child and adult is independent from the adult’s
humanistic attitude.

Korczak’s pedagogic ideas were based on his high interest in everything children did; he
was a practitioner-researcher with his whole heart. He emphasised how studying, observing
and asking children can lead to a better understanding of them. His constant observations
and reflections also enabled him to experiment with new structures and to analyse where
they needed improvement. ‘Thanks to theory, I know. Thanks to practice, I feel. Theory
enriches intellect, practice deepens feeling, trains the will’.

Korczak always emphasised the individuality of each child, stating that there is no recipe
for rearing children: ‘it is impossible to tell parents unknown to me how to rear a child also
unknown to me under conditions unknown to me […] There are insights that can be born
only of your own pain, and they are the most precious.’

further readings:
Korczak, J. (2007). Loving every Child – Wisdom for Parents. Edited by S. Joseph. Chapel
Hill: Algonquin Books.
Lewowicki, T. (1997). Janusz Korczak. In E. Morsy-Zaghloul (ed.). Thinkers on Education.
Vol. 3. Paris: UNESCO. Available online:
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/ThinkersPdf/
korczaks.PDF
Lifton, B.J. (1988). The King of Children: A Biography of Janusz Korczak. London: Chatto
& Windus. Available online: http://korczak.com/Biography/kap-0.htm



Pedagogic Thinkers
Kurt Hahn ( 1886 – 1974)

‘I regard it as the foremost task of education to ensure
the survival of these qualities:
an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in
pursuit,
readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion’

Kurt Hahn was born in 1886 into a cultured Jewish industrialist family in Berlin, Germany.
Here he was educated at the stately ‘Wilhelm Gymnasium’ (private college) where he
experienced an education – typical for this time – with a very strong focus on learning facts
and being diligent. Hahn saw this mainly cognitive orientated method of education as
inefficient in preparing the pupils for life after school and the demands of society. He
himself developed a pedagogic concept of learning which emphasized on the forming of a
personality as a whole, instead on learning strictly by and with books. Furthermore, he was
convinced that education be designed to develop the deepest qualities of character and
compassion. He believed in the need for real, hands-on, practical challenges for the
development of character. Another aspect he wanted to promote with his concept was to
enable pupils to become responsible, thinking and acting human beings who reflected
themselves and their social environment.

Hahn decided early to become a school master and studied at the Universities of Göttingen,
Germany and at Christ Church, Oxford. During his studies in Oxford he learnt more about
the English schools and in particular the boarding schools. Here he found an educational
concept which saw pupils as persons who will take over responsibilities and leading roles in
their later life. The task of gaining knowledge of facts seemed to be seen as equivalent to
being enabled to cope with crises and emergencies.
In 1918 he worked as private secretary in Germany for Prince Max von Baden, a scholar and
humanist. Both shared the passion for education and upbringing. In 1920 they co-founded
their first boarding school at the castle of the Prince of Baden, the ‘Schule Schloss Salem’,
near Lake Constance. This initiative and being the headmaster of this school was the first
significant involvement of Kurt Hahn as an innovative educator in a school.
Due to his opposition to the rising Hitler regime, Hahn fled to England, where he was asked
to open a school similar to the one at Salem in the Scottish Gordonstoun. The ‘New Salem’
opened its doors in 1934 with the support of his English friends. Out of Hahn’s
Gordonstoun activities grew also the ‘Outward bound trust’ and its ‘expeditionary learning’.
For this the first Outward bound school was opened in Aberdovey, Wales in 1941. The
background for this initiative was the recognition that, during the sea war, older seamen
survived the sinking of their ship, rather than the young, physically fit. Hahn related this to
the advanced experience the older men had already gained in dealing with crises
throughout their working life. To even out the lack of experience, self confidence, strength
of character and endurance, Hahn developed a concept which was based on expeditionary
orientated activities.
Apart from this and the founding of many other schools with the same approach and idea
across Europe and even the USA, he developed the ‘County badge’, which later in 1940
became the ‘Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’. He retired from the headmastership at
Gordonstoun in 1953 after a severe illness and returned to his home at Hermannsberg in
Germany. In 1974, Kurt Hahn died in Ravensburg, Germany and lies buried in Salem.


Pedagogic ideas:
Hahn believed that every child is born with innate spiritual powers and the ability to make
correct judgments about moral issues. However, in the progression through adolescence,
the child loses these spiritual powers and the ability to make moral judgments due to the
‘diseased society’ and the impulses of adolescence. Hahn summed this up in the ‘Six
declines of Modern Youth’:
1. Decline of fitness due to modern methods of locomotion (moving about);
2. Decline of initiative and enterprise due to the widespread disease of ‘spectatoritis’;
3. Decline of memory and imagination;
4. Decline of skills and care due to the weakened tradition of craftsmanship;
5. Decline of self-discipline due to the ever-present availability of stimulants and
tranquilizers;
6. Decline of compassion due to the unseemly haste with which modern life is conducted
or, as William Temple called it, ‘spiritual death’.
To ameliorate the social declines/diseases, Hahn prescribed 4 antidotes and developed the
‘Seven Laws of Salem’ in 1929, on which everyday life was and still is structured in his
schools. With these approaches he wanted to promote a pedagogic concept and learning
which would lead pupils to become persons who would be able to act kindly, righteously
and take over responsibility for themselves and the community. In this sense the four
antidotes can be understood as the four areas in which the main activities and ‘new
learning’ take place. All four elements should be seen under the motive of experiencing, as
Hahn suspected a subconscious effect of these experiences on the behaviour, the attitude
and the values of the concerning person:
• Fitness training (e.g., to compete with one’s self in physical fitness; in so doing, train the
discipline and determination of the mind through the body)
• Expeditions (e.g., via sea or land, to engage in long, challenging endurance tasks)
• Projects (e.g., involving crafts and manual skills)
• Rescue Service (e.g., surf lifesaving, fire fighting, first aid)
The ‘Seven Laws of Salem’ on the other hand describe the approach in which these
activities should be put into practice:
1. Give the children opportunities for self-discovery.
2. Make the children meet with triumph and defeat.
3. Give the children the opportunity of self-effacement in the common cause.
(See to it that they get the chance to forget themselves in the pursuit of a common
cause)
4. Provide periods of silence.
5. Train the imagination.
6. Make games important, but not predominant.
7. Free the sons of the wealthy and powerful from the enervating sense of privilege.
Hahn did not consider his schools as new. He claimed that his educational philosophy was
simply a pastiche from a variety of other sources. Hahn’s argument was that he preferred
‘material’ that was already proven to work rather than to experiment. The secret of success,
however, lay in the unique selection and combination of the principles that Hahn had
decided to borrow, combined with Hahn’s charismatic energy and persuasive ability to put
his ideas into action. One phrase used to sum up the philosophy of his educational
programmes was that ‘there is more in you than you think’. Today strong traces of Hahn’s
holistic and society-oriented educational approach can be found in many fields of social
work as it has outgrown the schooling system a long time ago.


Further readings:
www.kurthahn.org Archive of Kurt Hahn: www.salemcollege.de


Salutogenesis
Salutogenesis is an alternative medicine concept that focuses on factors that support
human health and well-being rather than on factors that cause disease. The term
salutogenesis comes from the Latin salus: health, and genesis: origin. The term was first
used by Aaron Antonovsky in 1979, who studied the influence of a variety of sources of
stress on health and was able to show that relatively unstressed people had much more
resistance to illness than those who were more stressed. Antonovsky argued that the
experience of well-being constitutes a Sense of Coherence (SOC). Though modern medicine
has increasingly come to ask about the origin of illness, Antonovsky suggested that an
equally important question to pose is: ‘what is the origin of health?’

The salutogenic perspective focuses on three aspects. Firstly, the focus is on problem
solving/finding solutions. Secondly, it identifies generalised resistance resources that help
people to move in the direction of positive health. Thirdly, it identifies a global and
pervasive sense in individuals, groups, populations, or systems that serves as the overall
mechanism or capacity for this process, the sense of coherence (SOC).

For social pedagogues, salutogenesis means to concentrate on and strengthen children’s
health in a holistic understanding of the term – including emotional and physical well-
being. This positivist focus can effectively help overcome problems and weaknesses by
developing salutogenic factors, such as the sense of coherence, a positive self-concept,
confidence, trust, emotional stability, social inclusion, being cared for, optimism, fantasy,
etc.

Sense of Coherence
Antonovsky defined Sense of Coherence as:
‘a global orientation that expresses the extent to which one has a pervasive, enduring
though dynamic feeling of confidence that one's internal and external environments are
predictable and that there is a high probability that things will work out as well as can
reasonably be expected.’
This Sense of Coherence, developed through the feeling that we can make sense of and
influence what is happening around us, is essential for staying healthy, and makes the
difference in enduring stress situations physically and emotionally healthy. Play,
experiences and dialogue are important in developing this feeling.
DF Smith identifies three inherent prerequisites that determine a person’s abilities to cope
as:
• Meaningfulness: The profound emotive experience of life as making sense and thus
coping being desirable.
• Manageability: The recognition of the resources required to meet the demands and a
willingness to search them out – being able to solve problems.
• Comprehensibility: The conceptual perception of the world being understandable,
meaningful, orderly and consistent rather than chaotic, random and unpredictable.



Self-Concept
The self-concept is the sum total of a person’s beliefs about their own personal attributes.
These beliefs can be about affect, behaviour, cognitions, motives, etc.

Shavelson, Bolus & Stanton (1976) came up with a model of self-concept that they defined
as ‘a person's perceptions of him/herself. It is formed through experience with and
interpretations of one's environment. It is especially influenced by evaluations by
‘significant others’ (e.g. parents, teachers, youth workers), reinforcements, and attributions
for one's own behaviour.

Shavelson, Bolus, and Stanton (1976) distinguished four areas of the self-concept:

General General
Self-
Concept

Academic/ Non-Academic Self-
Non- Academic Social Self- Emotional Physical
Concept
Academic Self- Concept Self- Self-Concept
Concept Concept
Sub-areas Particular
Significant Physical Physical
of Self- Math History English Science
Others
Peers Emotional
Ability Appearance
Concept States

The performance in the sub-areas of the self-concept are evaluated in specific situations,
e.g. one’s social self-concept depends on how the peers react to one’s presence, and on
feedback from ‘significant others’.
Sources of information for self-concept (Skaalvik, 1997) are:
• Frames of reference: Social comparison (important for academic self-concept)
External: big-fish-little-pond-effect (self-concept increases in comparison with low-
achieving others)
Internal: comparison to one’s own achievements/abilities
• Causal attributions: Self-concept and attributions are related in a reciprocal manner
Internal: success due to personal factors, e.g. ability
External: failure due to bad luck/task difficulty
• Reflected appraisals from significant others
• Mastery experiences
• Psychological centrality: achieving in a task one considers important increases self-
concept, failure in a task seen as insignificant does not have a negative impact on self-
concept.
According to Marsh (1985), of major importance for the self-concept are the comparison
with others and the reflected appraisals from significant others. This offers various
possibilities for social pedagogues to enhance children’s self-concept through appreciative
feedback and creating opportunities where children can succeed and demonstrate their
abilities.

Developing a Self-Structure
Stern (1985) suggests that the child has from an early age the capacity to integrate different
sensory information about an object in the world, and play an active role in their
relationships with others. Children are not lost in a sea of abstract elements they are
gradually organising and ordering them.

E1 I1

E2 I2 RIG1

E3 I3
S1
E4 I4
RIG2
E5 I5

E6 I6
RIG3 S2
E7 I7

Basic elements of the self (S) are developed as interpersonal experiences. These experiences
— which are experiences of being together, for example, with the parent — are always the
sum of similar small interaction episodes (E) and on their interpretations (I) by the child –
based on previous experiences. They happen again and again, following the same pattern
with slight variations. They are more or less mini-scripts. The interactions are generalized
and stay in the infant’s memory as if they were added up. They become generalized
representations of interaction (RIG). They represent the self not as a state of being, but as a
process: a self which experiences itself as being in a process of interaction and which then
develops patterns, generalizations, invariances, etc.: the so-called RIGs (representations of
interactions that have been generalized). The experienced elements of the self (S) are the
second order scheme, which is comparably more static than the RIGs.
Example: infants who experience very frequently (=many small interaction episodes – E)
that their mother tends to their needs (=they feel their needs are satisfied – I) generalize
these experiences (RIG) and assume that they will always be taken care of. In combination
with other generalized experiences, several elements of the self are structured (S), e.g.
everybody being friendly and caring might lead to a development of the self as being
friendly towards others.
Relevance for pedagogic practice:
- Implies a focus on the here-and-now relationship.
- Pedagogues must create positive interpersonal experiences – to alter the self-
structure (S) it requires a multitude of similarly interpreted experiences (E).
- The relationships to others are vital both for a sense of self and a sense of other as a
separate other person in his or her own right.

Stern, D. (1985). Affect attunement. In J. D. Call, E. Galenson and R.L. Tyson (Eds).
Frontiers of Infant Psychiatry, Vol. 2. New York: Basic Books.


The 4 Pedagogic Styles
Baumrind (1991) defined four parenting styles from which we can also derive how
pedagogic interaction should be designed. Depending on the level of affection (e.g.
responsiveness, involvement, supportiveness) and control (e.g. monitoring, limit setting),
she distinguished between:

- authoritarian style: a lack of affection
combined with a high level of control may limit
problem behaviour, but has a negative impact
on the quality of the relationship towards the
child or young person
- authoritative style: lots of warmth and
affection for the child while at the same time
ensuring that limits are not overstepped mean
that the child learns to act responsibly in a
loving environment
- permissive style: a high level of affection
paired with a laissez-faire approach to rules are
associated with some children’s problem
behaviour as breaking rules is not consistently
sanctioned
- disengaged style: a lack of affection as well as control indicate the total absence of
any emotional connection with the child and has detrimental consequences for
children’s problem behaviour

In practice, it is unlikely to reach the pure form of any of these pedagogic styles – the
amount of affection shown and of control will depend on the situation as well as child or
young person and his or her unique personality. Yet a high level of affection is essential
within pedagogic relationships.

Other psychological studies differentiate between three dimensions: affection, behavioural
control (e.g., maturity demands, monitoring, limit setting), and psychological control (e.g.,
love withdrawal, guilt induction).
Evidence from social psychology studies (e.g. Aunola & Nurmi, 2005) suggests that high
levels of affections in combination with low psychological control leads to a decline in
children’s and adolescents’ problem behaviour. Positive parenting, i.e. a caring, supportive
relationship which includes that certain boundaries are kept, seems not only preferable
from a humanistic point of view, but is also the most successful pedagogic style!



Communication Axioms
Watzlawick defines 5 basic axioms in his theory on communication that are necessary to
have a functioning communication between two individuals.

• ONE CANNOT NOT COMMUNICATE
Every behaviour is a kind of communication. Because behaviour does not have a
counterpart (there is no anti-behaviour), it is not possible not to communicate.
• EVERY COMMUNICATION HAS A CONTENT AND RELATIONSHIP ASPECT SUCH THAT THE LATTER
CLASSIFIES THE FORMER AND IS THEREFORE A META-COMMUNICATION

This means that all communication includes, apart from what is said, more information
– information on how the talker says something suggests how he himself sees his
relation to the receiver of information. The relationship is the framework of the content.
• THE NATURE OF A RELATIONSHIP IS DEPENDENT ON THE PUNCTUATION OF THE PARTNER ’S
COMMUNICATION PROCEDURES

Both the talker and the receiver of information structure the communication flow
differently and therefore interpret their own behaviour during communicating as merely
a reaction on the other’s behaviour (i.e. every partner thinks the other one is the cause of
a specific behaviour). Human communication cannot be dissolved into plain causation
and reaction strings, communication rather appears to be cyclic.
• HUMAN COMMUNICATION INVOLVES BOTH DIGITAL AND ANALOGUE MODALITIES
Communication does not merely involve spoken language (digital communication), but
non-verbal, analogue communication as well, e.g. facial expression, gestures, body
language.
• INTER-HUMAN COMMUNICATION PROCEDURES ARE EITHER SYMMETRICAL OR COMPLEMENTARY
Symmetrical communication is based on equal power while complementary
communication is based on differences in power relations. A healthy relationship will
have both types of power. Too much of one type of power can lead to possible conflicts.

Watzlawick, P. (1967). Pragmatics of Human Communication. New York: WW Norton &
Co.



The 4 Aspects of a Message

Schultz von Thun (1981) differentiated four aspects of a message:
1) informational aspect: level of the facts
2) relational aspect: level that reveals something about the relationship between
sender and recipient
3) appellative aspect: level where one tells the other person what to do
4) aspect of self disclosure: level where one tells something about oneself

The

message is not only sent with all those levels, but also heard with all these aspects. Sender
and recipient may weigh the levels differently, if they are not explicit and aware of
interpretations. The recipient defines the meaning of a message!

Schultz von Thun, F. (1981). Miteinander reden 1. Störungen und Klärungen. Hamburg:
Reinbeck.



Theme-Centered Interaction (TCI)
Theme-centered interaction is a communication approach developed for working in groups
by R. Cohn.
Individual person (Me): The interests and needs of every
participant should be, insofar as possible, taken into
consideration in the group process.
Group (We): Once a group develops and works together, a
process develops through this unit. It has its own rules,
needs and potential for conflict, which must all be taken into
consideration.
Task (Theme): The topic of the group or rather the task
which must be solved, is tied to certain respective demands
and practical necessities. It is important to make productive
use of the various participant interests and competencies in
solving the task (group work is considered to be more
important than individual work).
Frame (Globe): The group work is embedded in space,
time, institutional and other minor circumstances, all of
which promote or hinder the group process and the work
results.

Depending on the given task, the constitution, the particular phase of the process and
working style of a group, group activity is centred either on the needs of the individual
participants (What can I achieve here and now?), or the group processes (How do we come
to terms with each other?) or the task (What has to be done?). Professionally working
groups normally concentrate almost exclusively on the task, consequently little room or
time is left for the needs of the participants or the process of the group. Nevertheless, the
neglect of the participants' needs and group dynamics will eventually take revenge:
Individual participants will get frustrated and a poor group-climate may develop; open
conflicts and the blocking of the team work may be induced. On the other hand, there exists
the danger that working groups get too deeply involved with the needs of the individual
participants, and/or with group dynamics; such groups become self-centred and they lose
sight of the tasks.

It is the responsibility of each participant to contribute to a dynamic balance between his or
her personal needs, the group processes and the task aimed at: i.e. to contribute to the
balance of Me, We and Task.
To achieve this balance, the following governing rules of group work have proven their
worth:
• Be your own chairperson: Assume responsibility for yourself, for everything you say and
do, taking into consideration the balance of me, group, task and frame.
• Troubles have priority: Interrupt the conversation when you find that you are unable to
follow it.
• Express yourself in your contributions; start from your own personal experiences.
• Be both authentic and selective, i.e. first get conscious of what you feel and what you
think, then select that what you want to communicate there from.
• When asking questions, explain why you ask them.
• Refrain from interpreting others; instead, share your reactions to the statements and
actions of others.
• Talks with neighbours ("side conversations") should be shared with the group.
• One after the other: do not speak simultaneously.


• Speak about one single topic - and not too long.



Johari Window
The Johari Window model is a simple and useful tool for illustrating and improving self-
awareness, and mutual understanding between individuals within a group. The Johari
Window tool can also be used to assess and improve a group's relationship with other
groups. The Johari Window model was developed by American psychologists Joseph Luft
and Harry Ingham in 1955, while researching group dynamics – the model’s name is a
combination of Joe and Harry. Today the Johari Window model is especially relevant due
to modern emphasis on, and influence of, 'soft' skills, behaviour, empathy, cooperation,
inter-group development and interpersonal development.

The 4 regions of the Johari window:

1. what is known by the person about
him/herself and is also known by
others – open area, open self, free
area, free self, or ‘the arena’
2. what is unknown by the person
about him/herself but which others
know – blind area, blind self, or
‘blind spot’
3. what the person knows about him/
herself that others do not know –
hidden area, hidden self, avoided
area, avoided self or ‘façade’
4. what is unknown by the person
about him/herself and is also
unknown by others – unknown area
or unknown self



Feedback
For giving and taking a feedback to enlarge your knowledge of yourself and the knowledge
of others of you it is useful to apply some rules for the actual process. The suggested rules
are to promote a constructive communication atmosphere in which the two or more
participating parties can exchange there thoughts and impressions.

As the person giving the feedback...
• Ask if the person wants to have feedback and is prepared for it.
• Be authentic in what you say and select which aspects have priority.
• If you are referring to a specific incident try to offer the feedback as immediate as
possible.
• Start with the positive things and be conscious to value the person’s achievements.
• Don’t use the feedback as an opportunity to ‘get back’ at someone.
• Describe your perception of the actual incident, your personal feelings towards this and
what you assume. Speak only for yourself and that by using the first person.
• Try to avoid interpretations, accusations, judgments, lectures and speculations.

As the person receiving...
• Listen patiently, don’t interrupt and try not to justify yourself.
• Ask questions for understanding and study whether you have understood what the other
person has said to you. Now you can give feedback to the feedback-giving person on how
you feel with what has been said and after this – only after and not before – you can
discuss what has been said.
• Thank the other person for giving you feedback. You yourself decide which aspects you
want to accept out of what has been said to you and how this will influence your future
behaviour.



Active Listening
Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves
mutual understanding. Often when people talk to each other they don’t listen attentively.
They are rather distracted, half-listening, half-thinking about something else. When people
are engaged in a conflict, they are often busy formulating a response to what is being said.
They assume that they have heard many times before what their opponent is saying, so
rather than paying attention they focus on how they can respond to win the argument.

Active listening is a structured form of listening and responding that focuses the attention
on the speaker. The listener must take care to attend to the speaker fully, and then repeats,
in the listener’s own words, what he or she thinks the speaker has said. The listener does
not have to agree with the speaker. He or she must simply state what they think the speaker
said. This enables the speaker to find out whether the listener has really understood. If this
is not the case, the speaker can explain some more.

Often the listener is encouraged to interpret the speaker’s words in terms of feelings. Thus,
instead of just repeating what happened, the active listener might add that you felt angry or
frustrated or confused when a particular event happened. Then the speaker can go beyond
confirming that the listener understood what happened, but can indicate that he or she also
understood the speaker’s psychological response to it.

Three types of responses in active listening
Active listening is about focusing on the person who is speaking. An active listener needs to
focus full attention on the person who is speaking. The way the listener can show he or she
is actively listening is to do the following
• ask good questions,
• listen non-judgmentally,
• paraphrase, and
• empathize with their young person.
First you train yourself to ask questions in a way that allows your young person to feel
comfortable about answering truthfully, and about using his or her own words. Second,
you restate what you heard to make sure that you understood what your young person was
saying. Finally, you need to take the time to see things through your young person’s eyes
and get some understanding of how your adolescent is experiencing a given situation.

Asking questions
Often questions can seem accusing or blaming to the person asked. A question may make
the person feel pushed into a corner. For example, if a parent asks his or her teenage child,
‘You didn't like the movie, did you?’ it is clear that the parent does not approve of the movie
and, if the young person did like the movie, he or she ends up feeling the need to defend his
or her position. Consider how much easier it would have been to respond to the question
‘What did you think of the movie?’ And once your young person has expressed an opinion,
rather than giving yours, ask more questions to encourage your young person’s further
thinking.
Active listening requires the speaker to look at the hidden meaning behind the question.
People often ask questions that might make others feel pressured into coming up with the
correct response. For example, you might feel pressured when someone close to you asks,
‘Do you think I have gained weight?’ These types of questions tend to put the person being


asked on the defensive. Often the person may shut off communication in order to protect
him or herself.
In order to be a good active listener, you need to make sure that you ask questions honestly
and sincerely. And that the intent behind questioning is to understand rather than advise,
criticise, or pry (the prosecuting attorney approach). Through this process, young people
will also understand their own thinking by fostering decision-making and planning skills.
Active-listening questions intend to:
• Clarify meanings: ‘I hear you saying you are frustrated with Johnny, is that right?’
• Learn about others’ thoughts, feelings, and wants: ‘Tell me more about your
ideas for the project.’
• Encourage elaboration: ‘What happened next?’ or ‘How did that make you feel?’
• Encourage discovery: ‘What do you feel your options are at this point?’
• Gather more facts and details: ‘What happened before this fight took place?’

Asking questions: a self-evaluation
You can be fairly sure you are using active listening effectively if you:
• Do not assume you know what your young person means; don't try to
complete the young person’s statements or say, ‘I know just how you feel.’
• Ask for clarification with questions such as: ‘What did you mean when you said
I have been unfair to you?’ or ‘You said she's crazy what do you mean by crazy? What
does she do that is crazy?’
• Check your tone for sincerity. As you are talking to your young person, check
that your tone of voice matches your feelings and body language. For example, a
parent may sound angry when in reality he or she is concerned for his or her child.
However, because the child hears anger he or she becomes more defensive and shuts
the parent out.
• Ask open-ended questions that allow for a variety of responses. If you ask closed-
ended questions, you limit the range of responses and suggest that you already know
what is going to be said.
• Show interest in the speaker and the conversation by saying, ‘Tell me more
about that’ or ‘Keep going, I'm following you.’
• Don't give advice until after you have asked for the young person’s opinions on
the situation, as in ‘What are some possible solutions to this problem?’ or ‘What do
you think should happen?’

Paraphrasing (re-stating)
Paraphrasing is a tool a you can use to make sure that you understand the message that you
think your young person is sending. It is restating the information you just received to
make sure you understand it. For example, your child says, ‘I hate math and the teacher,
because she never lets us do anything cool!’ You might say, ‘It sounds like you’re having a
hard time with math and that makes you feel frustrated and bored.’ This technique helps to
communicate in several ways.

• First, it helps make sure they understood the message correctly.
• Second, by restating or paraphrasing, the listening person draws further
information from their teenage son or daughter.
• Third, paraphrasing allows the talking person to know that the listening person has
heard what has been said and is interested in what he or she has to say.
• Fourth, it gives the young person an opportunity to correct any misunderstanding
immediately.

Empathizing


Empathizing means that you (as an adult) have the ability to put yourself in your young
person’s shoes. To empathize, you must ignore your own, adult perception of the situation
for the moment and accept your young person’s feelings, thoughts, and ideas of the
situation as yours. See it through a young person’s eyes – during your discussion.
Empathizing does not mean you need to agree with your young
person.
Empathizing does not mean you need to give in to your young person, or allow
her or him to set her or his own rules to avoid confrontation.
Empathizing means you do not dismiss what your young person says as
ridiculous or silly. Your acceptance of your teenager’s thoughts, ideas, and feelings
increases the chance that your young person will talk to you about the problems and issues
that he or she is facing.

It is easy to know when you are being empathic because:
1. Your body language and tone match
2. Your tone and your feelings match
3. You are focused on what your young person is saying and meaning. You are trying to see
things from your young person’s point of view which requires that:
• You do not impose your feelings, thoughts, and ideas throughout the conversation
• You refrain from immediately giving advice
• You are tired after listening because it takes a great deal of energy
• You ask yourself if you would make that same statement to an adult. If not, then think
twice about making it.

Benefits

Active listening has several benefits. First, it forces people to listen attentively to others.
Second, it avoids misunderstandings, as people have to confirm that they do really
understand what another person has said. Third, it tends to open people up, to get them to
say more. When people are in conflict, they often contradict each other, denying the
opponents description of a situation. This tends to make people defensive, and they will
either lash out, or withdraw and say nothing more. However, if they feel that their opponent
is really attuned to their concerns and wants to listen, they are likely to explain in detail
what they feel and why. If both parties to a conflict do this, the chances of being able to
develop a solution to their mutual problem becomes much greater.



The Professional Role of the Pedagogue – Combining
Personality with Competence
The social pedagogue’s role is determined by two factors, partly the social education society
related function, and partly by the person who fulfils the role. The process of formation that
the education initiates in the student represents vocational and personal challenges. It’s all
about a life-long formation where, according to Bent Madsen, for the individual social
pedagogue or social educator student it concerns: “Complicated clarification and
recognition processes in connection with goal performance, ability to analyse and formulate
problems, situations involving choices full of conflict when applied to content and activities
and often unclear practise opportunities when applied to managing the professional role –
altogether something that places particular demands on the social educator’s
qualifications”.

The following model elaborates the mentioned qualifications:

With its petals, the
“formation flower”
shows that the
social pedagogue’s
function can be split
into four fields of
practise. There are
four different types
of practise in which
the (social) educator
uses his
fundamental
competences that
are attached to the
hands, heart,
tongue and brain.
This split provides
the opportunity to
discuss which
competences are
important
prerequisites to be
able to perform the
educational
activities in the four
fields of practice. The versatile formation comprises the social educator being able to use
the four competences in a personally integrated way. The ability to integrate the four
competences makes up the basis for the social pedagogue’s ability to act as a person and as
a professional.

The model requires a thorough study of the content of the fields.


The manual/physical field:

The field where the social pedagogue generates actual material products with his hands and
solves practical or technical tasks. This concerns the creative, extensive and transforming
field.

The physical/musical field:

The field where the social pedagogue experiences and discovers the world with his heart,
emotions and sensitivity and expresses these realisations.

The linguistic/social field:

The field where the social pedagogue, due to particular knowledge and insight into human
interaction processes can master for example:

Taking space – giving space

Closeness - distance

Set limits – be open

Be a guide – be searching

The scientific/experimental field:

The field where the social pedagogue, through critical reflection and systematic analysis
gains greater knowledge and a more thorough understanding of his own and others
educational practise.

Added to this is the importance of placing focus on the competence of action as the unifier
of the other 4 fields of competence.

Source: http://www.gedvedsem.dk/Default.asp?ID=2645



Expeditionary Learning – Outward Bound Design
Principles
Overview:
Expeditionary Learning is built on ten design principles that reflect the educational values and
beliefs of Outward Bound. These principles also reflect the design’s connection to related thinking
about teaching, learning, and the culture of schools.

1. The Primacy of Self-Discovery their failures, to persevere when things are
Learning happens best with emotion, hard, and to learn to turn disabilities into
challenge and the requisite support. People opportunities.
discover their abilities, values, passions, and
responsibilities in situations that offer 6. Collaboration and Competition
adventure and the unexpected. In Individual development and group
Expeditionary Learning schools, students development are integrated so that the value of
undertake tasks that require perseverance, friendship, trust, and group action is clear.
fitness, craftsmanship, imagination, self- Students are encouraged to compete not
discipline, and significant achievement. A against each other but with their own personal
teacher’s primary task is to help students best and with rigorous standards of excellence.
overcome their fears and discover they can do
more than they think they can. 7. Diversity and Inclusion
Both diversity and inclusion increase the
2. The Having of Wonderful Ideas richness of ideas, creative power, problem-
Teaching in Expeditionary Learning schools solving ability, and respect for others. In
fosters curiosity about the world by creating Expeditionary Learning schools, students
learning situations that provide something investigate and value their different histories
important to think about, time to experiment, and talents as well as those of other
and time to make sense of what is observed. communities and cultures. Schools and
learning groups are heterogeneous.
3. The Responsibility for Learning
Learning is both a personal process of 8. The Natural World
discovery and a social activity. Everyone learns A direct and respectful relationship with the
both individually and as part of a group. Every natural world refreshes the human spirit and
aspect of an Expeditionary Learning school teaches the important ideas of recurring cycles
encourages both children and adults to become and cause and effect. Students learn to become
increasingly responsible for directing their stewards of the earth and of future
own personal and collective learning. generations.

4. Empathy and Caring 9. Solitude and Reflection
Learning is fostered best in communities Students and teachers need time alone to
where students’ and teachers’ ideas are explore their own thoughts, make their own
respected and where there is mutual trust. connections, and create their own ideas. They
Learning groups are small in Expeditionary also need time to exchange their reflections
Learning schools, with a caring adult looking with others.
after the progress and acting as an advocate for
each child. Older students mentor younger 10. Service and Compassion
ones, and students feel physically and We are crew, not passengers. Students and
emotionally safe. teachers are strengthened by acts of
consequential service to others, and one of an
5. Success and Failure Expeditionary Learning school’s primary
All students need to be successful if they are to functions is to prepare students with the
build the confidence and capacity to take risks attitudes and skills to learn from and be of
and meet increasingly difficult challenges. But service to others.
it is also important for students to learn from


Source: Outward Bound


The Learning Zone
‘If you want to feel secure
Do what you already know how to do.
But if you want to grow …
Go to the cutting edge of your competence,
Which means a temporary loss of security.
So, whenever you don’t quite know
What you are doing
Know
That you are growing …’
(Viscott, 2003)

In order to learn we have to explore: we already know our environment we feel comfortable
in, where we don’t have to take any risks. To get to know the unknown, we have to leave
this Comfort Zone and discover the Learning Zone, which lies just outside of our secure
environment. Only in the Learning Zone can we grow and learn, and thus slowly expand
our Comfort Zone. Going into the Learning Zone is a borderline experience – we feel we’re
exploring the edge of our abilities, our limits, how far we dare to leave our Comfort Zone.
However, beyond the Learning Zone lies the Anxiety Zone, wherein learning is impossible,
as it is blocked by a feeling of fear. In the transition from Comfort Zone to Learning Zone
we need to be careful when taking risks that we don’t go too far out of our Comfort Zone –
beyond the Learning Zone – into the Anxiety Zone, where all our energy is used for
managing/controlling the anxiety.

For each person this Circle Model differs – each of us has their own Comfort Zone –
Learning Zone – Anxiety Zone. The key is to know when to stay in our Comfort Zone – to
choose when to explore our Learning Zone – and to be aware of when we are in our Anxiety
Zone.

Creative Reviewing

The Debriefing Funnel

Experiences

Filter #1:
Review. Recall &
Remember
Can you RECALL an example of...?
Do you REMEMBER a time when...?

What was the EFFECT of that occurrence?
How did that make you feel effectively?

Can you SUM up what you have learned from this?

Do you see a connection between this learning and your "real"
life & can you APPLY this new learning in any way?

What will you do differently next time at home, work or play
& how will you COMMIT to making a change for a better
future

Change

Creative Reviewing

Recall

Effect

Summation

Application

Commitment


Research Question

Please ask some of your young people to answer the following question in writing:
– What is important to you in the relationship with your key worker?

Please state, without knowing the young people’s answers, what you think is
important to young people in the relationship with you?


Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care
In Residence, No 3, April 2006

Children's Rights: How to Implement a
Rights-Based Approach in Residential Child Care
Evelyn Vrouwenfelder
Training Co-ordinator, Save the Children

Evelyn Vrouwenfelder is responsible for the external training programme at
Save the Children Scotland, A Dutch--trained social worker, Evelyn worked in
residential child care for four years in Holland before working in such diverse
areas as Liberia and East Timor. She carried out a range of tasks such as work
with separated children and street children, raising awareness about child
protection, training police, social workers and legal officers, and carrying out
research in these countries before taking up her post in Scotland in 2002. She has
been heavily involved with SIRCC in designing and delivering children's rights
training to residential workers.
Introduction
Children's rights are often spoken about and discussed in residential units, but how
do we use children's rights as a tool to do our work? This paper suggests some
answers. It starts with basic information about the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and answers some common questions on
children's rights. It introduces two models for implementing a rights-based
approach, and provides illustrations of their use. Residential workers might
wonder why we need another method of working with children and young people.
Taking a rights-based approach is not meant to be just another method, but is an
overarching framework, which complements existing ways of working in child care.
Discussions and reflections on the models presented in this paper will hopefully
provide a better way to make decisions about children and young people in
residential care.
Where did the UNCRC come from?
The UNCRC was developed by the United Nations, following a decade of work
devoted to discussing why a separate statement about children's rights was needed.
The final document was adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1989
and ratified by the UK in 1991, Ratification means that legislation such as The
Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 and the
Care Standards should incorporate the UNCRC. By doing this, the Government
makes sure that children's rights are upheld by those who provide services for
children and young people and that adults working with them, such as residential
workers and other professionals, are accountable.
Relating Rights to Practice: what's the relationship between adults and
children?
Everyone has human rights, including adults and children. Children's rights are
simply specific human rights for all children and young people from birth to 18
years of age. They are needed because they reflect the special status of childhood -
a period of rapid change and development during which this group experiences

different vulnerabilities (e.g. physical weakness or lack of knowledge) and therefore
has different entitlements from adults.
Our explanation of what childhood is and recognition of this special status has been
developed over a long period time. Aries (1962), and other theorists who have come
after him, tells us that the idea of childhood is socially constructed. This means
that people in western society tend to see children and young people either as
potential victims who need looking after, or as potential threats who need to be
controlled. One of the consequences of our current thinking is that children and
young people are seen as passive and helpless and adults must 'do something' to
help. This has been translated into the understanding that children and young
people in need of care should be 'taken away', 'be properly educated' or 'get the right
kind of treatment.' This thinking focuses on children and young people's
weaknesses and not their strengths. The UNCRC emphasises strengths and asks
adults to see children and young people as active and not passive objects. Through
the UNCRC, children are rights-holders. This point is important because unless
the residential worker sees the child as a rights-holder and not a helpless object, any
degree of participation will be, at best, tokenistic and at worst, meaningless.
Residential workers are in one of the most important positions to promote
children's rights, and therefore are also among the key groups of duty bearers.
The tasks of the residential worker are complex, requiring many skills. Taking a
rights-based approach to work is an important way to apply those skills in a
proactive way. A rights-based approach is one where the worker has examined
children's rights and tries to put them at the centre of their practice; however,
applying a rights-based approach has been met with some suspicion. Some would
argue that the
promotion of children's rights has added to tensions in residential care, and
undermined practitioner morale.
The Scottish Commissioner for Children and YoungPeople, Kathleen Marshall,
comments on a fear that our culture is becoming too 'rights-based.' She explains
that there is a fear among practitioners that an over-emphasis on the rights of
children and young people will create expectations that are both unhealthy and
unrealisable in a democracy. Adults also sometimes comment that "children and
young people know too much about their rights already.' The truth is, however, as
Marshall acknowledges, that children and young people know very little about their
rights. What they believe they know is often only a fragment or even a caricature of
the actual content of the UNCRC Some studies about children have shown this to be
the case. For example, in an interview with the Scottish Child Law Centre carried
out by Save the Children, concern was expressed about how little children and
young people in residential care attending children's panels know about their rights.
Informing children and young people is a key responsibility for residential workers;
however, given the fact that residential workers meet many problems on a daily
basis, including verbal and physical abuse, they may have real concerns about their
own rights. Some residential workers may feel that their rights are over-ridden by
children's rights, or that they have more important matters to deal with than the
promotion of children's rights. It is the intention of this paper to demonstrate that it
is possible to implement a rights-based approach which makes both staff and
children feel valued.

How Do Rights and Responsibilities Relate To Each Other?
Kathleen Marshall emphasises mat in any society, rights and responsibilities must
go together. Sometimes, however, this is wrongly interpreted. For example, some

people may say that unless a person takes responsibility, they cannot have rights.
Marshall would say that a person can only be regarded as having a right if someone
else has a responsibility to respect it; however, rights do not have to be earned by
the exercise of responsibility. For example, most of us would acknowledge that
babies have rights as have people with severe learning difficulties. Yet both these
groups cannot exercise this right without help from others and are very vulnerable
to harm or exploitation. It is the same with children and young people in care.
Marshall suggests that the more appropriate link should be responsibility and
power, not responsibility and rights. Anyone exercising power of any description
must do so responsibly. Our responsibility consists of knowing and being aware that
in situations where we could have the power and moral capacity to jeopardise the
rights of others, we have the responsibility to treat others with respect within a
context of human rights.

Two Models for Implementing a Rights-Based Approach to Practice
(A) Model One: The Triangle of Rights
The 54 articles in the UNCRC are clustered around four core principles which help with
interpreting the UNCRC as a whole and offer a holistic way of making decisions regarding
children and young people. Save the Children, which developed the models described in
this paper, says that one way to picture these principles is as a triangle, in which three of the
core principles form the corners of the triangle. When the triangle is out of balance, it poses
a risk of jeopardising the right to life, survival and development, which is the fourth core
principle, and lies at the heart of our work with children and young people.

The three core child should be a
principles forming the primary
three corners of the consideration. This
triangle are: is Article 3 of the
► Non- UNCRC.
discrimination ► Participation
All rights in the of the child
UNCRC apply to all Children and
children and young young people
people. Children and should be free to
young people have a express opinions in
right to be protected all matters
from discrimination. affecting them, and
This is Article 2 of the those views should
UNCRC. be given due
► Best interests of weight ‘in
the child accordance with
In all actions the age and
concerning children maturity of the
and young people the best interests of the child’. This is Article 12 of the UNCRC.

The Fourth core principle in the heart of the triangle is:
► The right to life, survival and development

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