Course Topics
- Historical development of social pedagogy in German-speaking countries area - Theory models in the history of social pedagogy - The significance of theories for social pedagogy - current discourses on the profession and theories - Scientific theories vs. everyday theories - Theories of action and professional theories of social pedagogy in practice - Humanities approach (Herman Nohl / Gertrud Bäumer) - Emancipatory, critical-materialistic approach (Klaus Mollenhauer) - Coping with life (Böhnisch) - Lifeworld-orientated approach (Hans Thiersch) - Social space orientation (Hinte) - Practical example - from theory to realisation - Systems theory approach (Michael Bommes and Albert Scherr) - Social pedagogy and Social work as a human rights profession (Silvia Staub-Bernasconi) - From theory to action - methods of action in social pedagogy

Teaching format
Lecture with media support, partner work, in-depth short group work, preparatory reading, text work in the course

Educational objectives
After successfully completing the module, students will be able to - know and reproduce the general theoretical foundations of methodological action in social pedagogy. - understand social pedagogy as a theory-led science of action. - know the contexts of action in social pedagogy and relate them to theories of action. - know the main professional theoretical approaches to social pedagogy, differentiate the central professional theoretical approaches and be able to apply them to fields of action in social pedagogy. Knowledge and understanding The students - have an insight into fundamental questions of theory formation in social pedagogy. - acquire basic and exemplary in-depth knowledge of theories of action and professional theories in social pedagogy. Applying knowledge and understanding The students - are able to transfer the theoretical foundations to practical fields of social pedagogy. - understand theories of social pedagogy as concepts empirically derived from practice. - can use theories to explain and reflect on social pedagogical practice. Judgement The students - are able to assess the quality and relevance of selected theories for practice. - can analyse theories and check whether their interpretations are covered by the literature. Communication The students - have communicative and co-operative skills to explain and evaluate theories in a joint interpretation process. - are able to support each other through mutual explanations and enrich group work. Learning strategies and transversal competences The students - deal with specialised texts on the theories of social pedagogy and thus expand their learning strategies and understanding of texts. - are able to transfer the theoretical competences they have acquired to other topics and cognitive interests

Assessment
Written exam (60 minutes) with open and closed questions. The contents of the seminars and the corresponding literature discussed in the seminar are relevant for the exam.

Evaluation criteria
Assignment of a single final mark based on the total number of points achieved in the exam. Points are awarded for formally correct and complete answers (pro rata if necessary) and totalled.