Social pedagogy is a subfield of social work primarily focused on the theoretical and practical aspects of child and youth welfare, as well as on their research. It supports, within the framework of the welfare state, institutional educational and socialisation processes for young people at the level of professional practice. Additionally, it provides diverse support services for children, adolescents, and their families.

We approach this field through profession(alisation) and service user-oriented research. A particular emphasis is placed on questions arising from two crucial developments of recent years, which are significant for both the overall education and socialisation system and for child and youth welfare:

1. the increasing development of school-related child and youth welfare, decisively driven by the expansion of all-day schools in Germany since 2003, and

2. the development of inclusion-oriented child and youth welfare, primarily due to the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Germany in 2009 and the associated legislative reform efforts of SGB VIII (Child and Youth Welfare Act).

The methodological focus of our research activities lies in a qualitative-reconstructive exploration of (interrelated) actions, through which actors – for example, children, adolescents, their parents, and professionals – construct social reality in various social pedagogical contexts.

In the Bachelor's and Master's programs in Social Work, the members of the working group primarily offer courses related to child and youth welfare, issues of professionalisation and professionalism, methodological practices in social work, questions of (educational) justice, and topics related to qualitatively reconstructive research (see the staff page for current course offers).