Social pedagogy and social work relations in Greece: autonomous trajectories

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between social pedagogy and social work in Greece. The search begins with the identification of their philosophical roots, which, although they are common and start from the Ancient Greek philosophers, have led the course of each discipline in a different direction. What follows is the presentation of the most important defining elements of the development of the studies of social work and social pedagogy in Greece, which include features and historical landmarks. The different trajectories can be seen from the development of studies, where social work has a long tradition as an academic discipline, whereas the academic tradition of social pedagogy is much shorter. A similar differentiation is found in the professional frameworks of social work and social pedagogy in Greece, that is, in the institutionalisation of the profession of social worker and social pedagogue. Indicative data from the field of research of each discipline are then presented. Despite the differences and the autonomous trajectories, remarkable commonalities and similarities between social pedagogy and social work in Greece are identified, such as some basic principles, priorities, epistemological and methodological dimensions and some common areas of interest and action. Therefore, the autonomous trajectories of these disciplines do not separate them, but as potentially complementary, are able to make interdisciplinary connections between them, so that prevention and intervention programmes, especially in the fields of education and the community, can be developed.