The System of Social Pedagogy - Case Study Example

Critical Discussion of Your Personal Philosophy of Education Critical Discussion of Your Personal Philosophy of Education Social pedagogy is discipline within education that is concerned with the practice and theory of care and holistic education. This form of study emphasizes on well-being, growth, and learning. Within the society, I view social pedagogy is being underpinned by different humanistic principle and values that view individuals as resourceful and active agents, highlighting their importance in improving the wellbeing of the entire society, which in turn aid in tackling and preventing inequality and social problems. Social pedagogy is also employed within educational settings, such as schools. Teachers should use this form of education, especially where they view their students as being resourceful and active. The study may highlight the importance of teachers including their students in the learning process while aiming at preventing inequality and any educational problems. Through emphasizing on the well-being of students, their learning progress and growth, social pedagogy aims at improving the general performance of educational institution through better performance of teachers that in turn improve the performance of students. The term pedagogy is derived from a Greek word pals that means “child” and agein that means to guide or lead. Social pedagogy grew organically from longstanding traditional of different social thinkers and practitioners, as well as educational philosophers that had aims of creating a more just society by educational means. Hence, social pedagogy interacts between individuals and the society. The study aims at providing nurturing conditions that play a role in supporting human growth in two different directions, which are towards interdependence and towards independence. Since social pedagogy is usually a lifelong process, it works within different settings, from individuals’ early years, through adolescence, and to working with adult groups (Adams, 2008. Pp. 25). Social pedagogy encourages learning through the entire life period of an individual. The teaching within this form of study may be practiced for the entire life period of an individual. All educators should be pedagogues. Educators should always incorporate social pedagogy within the process of educating others. Through being incorporating social pedagogy within their teaching processes, according to my view, teachers are able to encourage well-being within the educational institutions, encourage learning and growth among the people they are educating. Educators should be pedagogues since social pedagogy encourages the learners’ well-being. The well-being of learners is the main idea behind education (Young, 2007. Pp. 78). The educational process seeks to pass knowledge across to learners. Without well-being, the purpose of education lacks meaning. Educators should be able to mind the well-being of the learners. This may be done through ensuring that all individuals understand the learning activities. Educators make sure that they equally encourage leaners and guide them through the learning process, which in turn encourages understandability and good performance by the learners through educators’ well-being (Fullan, 2001. Pp. 34). Social pedagogy encourages learning. Educators should ensure that learning takes place within educational institution. Learners may be taught different things without understand the information being passed across. However, buy educators being pedagogues, they are able to ensure that learning takes place. Learning means that learners understand and are able to apply the information being passed across by educators, which implies that education is taking place (West, 2008. Pp. 67). Social pedagogy encourages understandability and performance from leaners through encouraging harmony between the educators and learners. Through quality interaction, learning takes place in educational institutions. Educators should be pedagogues in order to encourage growth among leaners. Growth in the context of education means that leaners are able to become better through gaining knowledge and being able to apply the gained knowledge in their daily lives. I as a teacher, I would use Friere’s theory in my teaching practice. according to Friere’s theory, educators either function as instruments that are used in facilitating the integration of different generations into the present system’s logic and bringing about conventionality to it, or becomes a freedom practice where individuals deal critically with real life issues and discover the ways of participating in the transforming their world. However, the theory of constructivism is based on a philosophy that individuals usually construct their own understanding of the world. all individuals generate their mental models and rules that they may use in making sense of their experiences. This theory contrasts to the Friere’s theory because Friere states that educators pass knowledge to others and make them self-independent while making choices while the constructivism theory usually states that individuals learn about the world in their own way through creating their own mental models and rules. According to my opinion, I do not agree with the theory of constructivism. Individuals have to be taught on how to handle different situations. Educators usually teach on handling different life situations, as Friere states in his theory. Despite the ability of individuals learning different things by themselves, they have to be taught on how to go about variety of activities in order to gain knowledge. Education may not be successful if independently handled. However, if one gain knowledge from another person, the chances of success are higher. As an educator, I would use Friere’s theory due to its wide range of educational teachings. On the other hand, I would not use constructivism theory since it encourages individualism. Social pedagogy encourages growth among leaners. I agree with this statement and as a teacher, I would incorporate social pedagogy within my practice to enable my students to grow through gaining knowledge. Growth in the context of education means that leaners are able to become better through gaining knowledge and being able to apply the gained knowledge in their daily lives. Social pedagogy encourages growth of leaners and applying this form of study within my practice as a teacher may encourage better performance of my students. Growth may be encouraged by having humanistic principles and values enabling me to view my students as being active and resourceful to the educational process. Through become pedagogues as a teacher, I may encourage interaction within the educational institution, which in turn encourages growth through gaining of knowledge (Siegel, 2003. Pp. 56). In addition, I would incorporate Friere’s theory in my teaching practice in encouraging my students to grow and become better through using the banking concept. I would do this by allowing students to be “banks”, as Friere states, where I would fill them with knowledge for them to grow and become better. I agree with incorporating social pedagogy through their educational process, since educators are able to view their educators as resourceful and active to the educational process. Social pedagogy may be combined with the behaviorism theory to encourage performance. I would use this practice in my profession as a teacher to be able to incorporate their students in the learning process, where I am able to provide room for discussion rather than education being a “one man’s show” and try to change students’ behavior to encourage understandability. I would also incorporate Friere’s theory through ensuring that my class does not have a silence culture. A silence culture is one that students do not participate in the learning process, making them shy and they tend to gain less. Through being a “one man’s show” the learning process may be unproductive because education becomes a one-way thing, where only I as the teacher communicates. Through incorporating the learners in the educational process, the learners are able to understand better and gain more from the process. Learners are able to interact freely with the me as the teacher making the educational process friendly, which in turn improves the understandability of the learners. Social pedagogy encourages learning. I agree with this statement and I would incorporate it in my practice as a teacher. I as the teacher would use social pedagogy to ensure that learning takes place in all my classes. I would combine this strategy with the behavior theory, where teacher seek to change the behavior of students in order to allow them to reason in a manner that is beneficial to them. Learners may be taught different things without understand the information being passed across. However, buy being pedagogues and changing adjusting students’ behavior I shall be able to ensure that learning takes place. Learning means that learners understand and are able to apply the information being passed across by the teacher, which implies that education is taking place (West, 2008. Pp. 67). Social pedagogy encourages understandability and performance from leaners through encouraging harmony between the teachers and learners. Through quality interaction, learning takes place in educational institutions. I would incorporate social pedagogy in my practice to ensure that learning takes place in my classes. As a teacher, I would also use the behaviorism theory. This is where a teacher seeks to change the behavior of leaners in order for them to gain knowledge. Behaviorism theory encourages teachers to change how their leaners’ behave in order to change their ways of thinking and acting. Changing behavior encourages gaining of knowledge. As student’s behavior change, the more they gain knowledge. Using the behaviorism theory and social pedagogy may encourage better performance of students in schools and gaining of more knowledge by all individuals within a society. There are different elements of social pedagogy. A holistic and multi-dimensional understanding of well-being is one of the social pedagogy elements. Social pedagogy is based on ensuring well-being on learners, which I agree with. Well-being is the situation where I as a teacher monitor the progress of an individual to make sure that my students gain from the learning process. Well-being encourages quality performance through constant improvement by gaining knowledge (Abrams, 2003. Pp. 45). Through monitoring the well-being of an individual, people are able to become better by gaining knowledge and coexisting peacefully, both within the society and in educational institutions. Educators who consider the well-being of their students encourage an interactive educational process rather than a “one man’s show” where all students are treated equally and are encouraged to participate in the learning process through discussions. Discussions encourage learning and the general well-being of the leaners. Another element is learning from the view of competence, where educations facilitates, but not impose, children’s capacity of thinking for themselves. Educational facilities are supposed to improve the knowledge that students have (McKeever, 2002. Pp. 34). This is through providing a quality learning process, where knowledge is passed across from educators to learners. As a teacher, I would incorporate social pedagogy in my profession to encourage an educational process that assists my students to think for themselves rather than assisting them in thinking. I would instill knowledge to students in such a manner that the students may use the knowledge in making decisions on their own. This encourages independence through imposing quality education to learners. Social pedagogy ensures that teachers who are pedagogues and are able to facilitate children’s capacity of thinking for themselves, rather than being assisted to think. Another element is empowerment and promoting active engagement in an individual’s life as well as within the society and as such social pedagogy is concerned with the rights and development of children’s skills for living together in a democracy, which I agree. Social pedagogy aims at tackling and preventing social problems and inequalities to ensure a peaceful coexistence within the society. Social pedagogy aids in providing the necessary information that an individual may need in order to live peacefully with others and interact actively within the society (Pinson, 2011. Pp. 20). As a teacher, I would educate children in a manner that I make their skills better, which will enable them to make the right decisions and respect other people’s space. Social pedagogy encourages quality education through providing equal opportunities to all children to gain knowledge, which may in turn help them in coexisting peacefully within the society. Social pedagogy encourages empowerment and promotes active engagement in an individual’s life as well as within the society, and as such, social pedagogy is concerned with the rights and development of children’s skills for living together in a democracy. Being interactive is another element of social pedagogy. Social pedagogy is interactive in practice, which I agree. For educators to be pedagogies, they have to be interactive, where they provide students and other kinds of leaners with equal opportunities of asking questions and provide their own views in the learning process. Social pedagogy also aims at ensuring that educators provide necessary knowledge for others to become better and be able to make decision by themselves (Freire, 2004. Pp. 45). This knowledge also assists individuals in living peacefully together within the society. As a teacher, I would be concerned with the practice and theory of care and holistic education. I would emphasize on well-being, growth, and learning. Within the society, I would use social pedagogy in underpinning different humanistic principles and values that view individuals as resourceful and active agents, highlighting their importance in improving the wellbeing of the entire society, which in turn aid in tackling and preventing inequality and social problems. Social pedagogy relates to my experience by enabling me become more attentive and active in class, which has enabled me to gain knowledge and become a better thinker and decision maker. This experience has also enabled me to improve my coexistence with other within the society. There are different weaknesses that exist within social pedagogy. Educators may face difficulties in ensuring that the educational process is equal to all leaners. Educators may also face difficulties in providing equal chances for all leaners participating during the learning process. For example, it may be difficult for educators to provide equal opportunities to students by ensuring they participate equally in class. Not all students are active in class, and the educator may not be in a position to force them participate (Sellars, 2009. pp. 24). This makes some people active than others during the learning process. Educators may also face difficulties in ensuring that all learners have gained knowledge. Leaners have different capabilities in understanding and applying information. It is difficult for an educator to ensure that all leaners have understood and are able to apply the information provided. However, educators do their best in ensuring that all leaners maximize their abilities of gaining and interpreting knowledge. In addition, the time provided for educators to cover a certain topic may be minimal to ensure that all students have gain knowledge equally and provide interactive education sessions. The more interactive a session is the more time educators may require covering a given topic, which is a disadvantage of Social pedagogy. There are different kinds of constraints associated with social pedagogy. Time is a major in social pedagogy. Time may make it difficult for educators to cover all the materials they intend. The time provided for different activities may not be enough for these activities. For example, teachers may be required to cover a number of topics within a short duration of time, which may affect their performance negatively. Time may be a major constrain for educators who are social pedagogies. Educators may also face difficulties in providing an interactive atmosphere during the learning process. The more time a teacher provided for an interactive learning process the more time they may require, which may not be provided. The course material may be too much to ensure that all leaners understand the information and provide interactive sessions. The learning material may require a lot of time to cover effectively. In addition, educators may be faced by constraints in completing course materials. Since social pedagogy encourages instructiveness during the educational process, teachers tend to lose a lot of time in discussions. This in turn translated to inadequacy of time to complete the intended course. Due to the constraint of completing the intended syllabus, teachers tend to provide shallow information for some part of the learning process, which may translate to poor performance of students. There is a difference between should and could. “Should,” means that an action must be taken while “could,” implies that an action may or may not be take. For “should”, there is no option but “could,” provides options. This may affect my practice as an educator since these are commonly confused word. They may portray different meanings, which I may not have intended to imply. It is vital for educators to understand the meaning of closely related words in order for them to be effective in their practice. For example, an educator may use could in the place of should in giving instruction. In case some of the students do not follow these instructions, it is the teacher’s mistake because he or she for used a word that provides options for an action, one may choose to follow the instruction or not. In my practice as a teacher, I would make sure that my students understand the difference between could and should, and how they are correctly used within sentences. Ensuring that my students understand the use of these two words may encourage understandability and reduce confusion of closely related word in the class. In addition, I would make sure that students understand these words to avoid any difficulties in communication between the student and I or between the students themselves. References ADAMS, B., 2008. Making Education Better. Holbrook: Adams Media. ABRAMS, R. M., 2003. Leading in a Culture of Change. Palto Alto, Calif: Planning Shop. BLACKWELL, E., & Sunday Times of London (Firm), 2008. Leading in a Culture of Change. London: Kogan Page. FREIRE, P., 2004. 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