Social Pedagogy across Europe is the first Massive Open Online Course focussed on social pedagogy – a relationship-centred approach to supporting people’s learning, well-being and social inclusion in ways that promote social justice. The course is structured in eight sessions presented over four weeks – an introductory session, six sessions outlining social pedagogy in different European countries and sharing some innovative practice insights, and a review session to support you in applying your learning. You can undertake the six country sessions in any order you’d like. Through this course we aim to: *Give you an insight into how social pedagogy has been developing across Europe, highlighting both the diversity and connections, *Highlight the importance of valuing every person as intrinsically ‘rich’, recognising their unique potential and ability to be a valuable member of society, *Introduce you to ways in which you can bring this belief to life in everyday interactions and relationships that support people’s learning, nurture their well-being and enable them to feel included in society, *Ensure you are familiar with the most fundamental aspects of social pedagogical practice in ways that are applicable in your own personal and professional life. Please watch our introductory video to get more insights.

In the first session, you’ll hear from our ThemPra team how social pedagogy has been developing across Europe and what the central guiding principles are. We’ll also tell you more about the social pedagogy perspective we’re taking in the MOOC and what themes we’ll be covering over the course. Finally, we’ll dive straight into the first theme: participatory practice. You’ll have a chance to find out why participation is important and how you can ensure that the people you support are meaningfully involved in decisions that affect them. Find out more about the first session in the short intro video below.

In this week’s first session you’ll meet our colleagues at the University of Central Lancashire, who will introduce you to social pedagogy in the UK. In particular, we’ll focus on the role of creativity in social pedagogical practice. Our session includes ten short videos and a choice between two creative activities you can do as part of your assignment. Please watch our short intro video for more details.

The first session of this week comes from our colleagues at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic. As you’ll learn, social pedagogy has a long history and a very interesting tradition there. We’ll also explore how prevention activities can be used within social pedagogical practice and why these are important. Our session includes four videos and several further resources on prevention programmes in the Czech Republic. Please watch our short intro video for further details.