Crossing educational boundaries in youth work as social pedagogy

This paper shares lessons from our research on practices in Scotland to argue that border pedagogy can be regarded as a threshold concept (Land, Meyer and Baillie, 2010; Coburn and Gormally, 2015) which allows for a refreshed conceptualisation of youth work as social pedagogy for social justice and inclusion. In proposing youth work as education, Harland and McCready (2012) assert the need for professional equity across educational methodologies (inside and outside of schools). Yet, this has been slow to develop.

Situated on the boundaries of social work and formalised education, social pedagogy offers possibilities for holistic and multiple responses that enable young people to flourish and to make a positive contribution to their communities. As social pedagogy, youth work engages young people in crossing lifestyle, professional and social boundaries (such as those of education, culture, health and social work) that contribute to decision-making about their lives and about youth work practice and policy. In this way, youth work can help young people at micro and macro levels to challenge dominant discourses that seek to regulate and control their lives.

We propose that border pedagogy offers a threshold concept which can prompt discussion regarding the future for youth work in schools: where new configurations of methodological praxis can be realised across a range of professional domains. Practiced as social pedagogy, we are optimistic for new and sustainable futures for youth work and its role in education for social justice.