Pedagogy, social pedagogy and special pedagogy

School is no longer inhabited by only teachers. Today, there are also other professional fields like special pedagogues, social workers, librarians, gender pedagogues, and school leaders involved in the activities.

In the legal text, it is stated that consideration should be taken to the different needs of children and pupils. Children and pupils are to be given conditions that allow every individual to benefit from the education and the possibilities in society. The preventive work aims to create, develop and adapt learning environments so that all children and pupils can develop to the best of their ability. Sometimes, extra adaptations are necessary or special support for a shorter or longer period of time.

Regardless of the causes, it is important to strengthen the inclusion processes and to reduce the exclusion processes – something to which special pedagogy can contribute.

Special pedagogy also has links to other scientific disciplines than pedagogy – for instance, psychology, medicine and sociology, in order to make it possible to handle the complexity that characterises the variation in children's, youth's and adults' learning and life situations.

The commission within special pedagogy is to promote each individual's internal growth, participation, sense of community, and possibility to affect how other people and the surrounding community treats the individual. This can take place within the education, work place community or in everyday life.

Social pedagogy rests on three corner stones: theory, method and the personal instrument. The knowledge area is based on an interdisciplinary perspective from, among others, social work, psychology, social psychology, psychiatry, and jurisprudence, with its base in sociology and pedagogy.

Research in pedagogy

Pedagogy develops new knowledge about and for education, upbringing, teaching, learning processes, and knowledge creation. It deals with how people communicate, are formed and change in different societal institutions like preschool, school, family, higher education, treatment and working life, but also as a result of emerging digital media and new practices outside formal education.

Pedagogy contributes with explanations and understanding of what and how people learn, but also how different societal changes create new conditions for what values, knowledge and skills are carried on. Through this, pedagogy also contributes with necessary knowledge for the steering, management and development of pedagogical activities.

Professional studies

Professions position individuals in society and organisations and provide them with cultural, economic and social resources and also deal with questions concerning upbringing, education, experiences and identity. The research area investigates the significance of professions on societal as well as on organisational and individual level.

Studies of professions provide knowledge about how the division of labour develops in society and organisations. Within professional studies, socialisation and identity processes, careers, incorporation of knowledge, competence and skills in professions are studied. The public's trust in and perception of status of different professions – as well as how professionals in different professions experience this – is also studied.

Collaboration

To us, collaboration with the surrounding society is a natural way of working that leads to a higher quality in research and education. Linnaeus University should be a knowledge hub that stimulates development in the region and develops methods for problem-solving that can help meet the needs in society. Prominent research forms the basis for all development of activities. Challenging educations are our primary way of creating societal driving force and contract educations have a direct role to play as an answer to societal challenges.