Projects per year
Abstract
In recent years, various social services in the UK have piloted using social pedagogy – a broadly education-based approach to bringing about social change originating in mainland Europe – as a way of improving practice, particularly in residential childcare. Pilot evaluations of initiatives to introduce social pedagogy to children’s services have produced generally positive results, although the evidence remains modest and the studies are affected by a range of methodological limitations. In this article, we critically review existing evaluations, supplemented by insights from our experience as independent evaluators for a social pedagogy pilot for services supporting people with learning disabilities, to present an account of the challenges and opportunities of evaluating social pedagogy in the UK. We argue that some of the main challenges relate to: defining social pedagogy; measuring the baseline prior to implementing social pedagogy training; understanding individual and organisational change; measuring outcomes; and applying an appropriate approach for the evaluation. We conclude with recommendations for those intending to evaluate social pedagogy, and similar initiatives, in the future.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 8-23 |
Journal | Qualitative Social Work |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 14 Apr 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- Social pedagogy
- Evaluation
- Residential childcare
- Learning disabilities
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Evaluating social pedagogy in the UK: Methodological issues'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Camphill Social Pedagogy Pilot Evaluation
Roesch-Marsh, A., Kirkwood, S. & Cooper, S.
15/03/14 → 2/10/15
Project: Non-Funded Commission or Consultancy work
Research output
- 1 Commissioned report
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Social pedagogy pilot project evaluation
Roesch-Marsh, A., Cooper, S. & Kirkwood, S., Jun 2015, 1 ed. Edinburgh: Department of Social Work, University of Edinburgh. 57 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open AccessFile
Profiles
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Steve Kirkwood
- School of Social and Political Science - Senior Lecturer
- Global Justice Academy
Person: Academic: Research Active