Researching Social Pedagogy: Taking a Stance

Abstract

This article provides a critical analysis of the meaning and forms of research in the field of social pedagogy. The work questions the hegemony of the scientific paradigm, characterised by the primacy of empirical evidence, the standardisation of academic articles and dependence on productivity. It warns that this dominant research model leads to the homogenisation of thought, the precariousness of research work, and the loss of diversity of genres and languages in the production of knowledge. Given these limitations, it raises the need to construct a research position that recognises the complexity, uncertainty, and political dimension inherent in education. Researching social pedagogy implies a commitment to social transformation, beyond empirical validation, and critically questioning the institutional and discursive conditions that shape research in the social and educational fields. The text defends the relevance of qualitative, hermeneutic, and historical approaches, as well as narrative and essayistic forms that allow for a comprehensive understanding of educational practices. It also highlights the importance of recovering social pedagogy’s capacity to intervene in the construction of a common world, preventing it from becoming trapped in scientific mystification and the mere accumulation of evidence. In conclusion, it proposes rediscovering the need for social pedagogy as a critical and committed discipline that conceives of research as taking an ethical and political stance in the face of the inequalities and challenges of the present.