Reconnecting Social Work to Social Questions

Abstract Social pedagogy as an academic discipline and social practice has gained importance in many European countries during the past two decades. This popularity boost is often driven by the observation that social work has adopted a one-sided focus on individual needs and does not address the roots of social problems. The pedagogical approach is then called upon to help solve recurrent social problems. Increasing the effectiveness of social practices, however, does not only lie in their repedagogization. This is only part of the answer. Resocialization should be equally on the agenda. Therefore, it makes little sense to approach social work and social pedagogy as separate fields. This chapter argues for social pedagogy as a perspective on social work in order to enable social practices to cross the counterproductive dividing lines between culture, welfare, and politics and reconnect social practices to social movements.