Social Interference In Pedagogical Contexts

Going to school can be very challenging for students as well as for parents or guardians. They may experience bullying, failing grades, absenteeism, difficult situations at home, learning difficulties, etc. Sometimes students need a third party to solve certain problems. Therefore, social interference in educational contexts can be very important.

The years you spend in school have an impact on the rest of your life. This part of life often forges a personality in an important way. You can even say that you are learning to find your place in the community there. During these years, you spend a lot of time with peers.

Although the context of each student may be different, the educational institution needs to do its part so that students, regardless of their social or cultural background, can construct a positive self-image. The school should also help them to integrate into the school’s daily social life. It is also important for them to be able to take advantage of all the educational opportunities available to them (Fernández and Fernández, 2011).

It is important to repeat that the educational process involves getting the student into a situation that provides the opportunity for free and harmonious development.

Rosell (1998) states that this process should be considered as a whole. This means that it should include teachers as well as other professionals who can cover the “gaps” in the education system. Psychologists, sociologists, speech therapists and educational psychologists are just a few examples of such professionals.

Social interference in pedagogical contexts

In some autonomous societies, governments created the position of technical professor of social services. The authorities created these positions in order to be able to intervene effectively in high-risk situations. They also created them to prevent possible social and educational exclusion of students in these situations. With this, they hoped that these students would have a better chance of getting involved in and benefiting from compulsory upper secondary education.

Apart from this position, certain pedagogical orientation teams and pedagogical psychologists are also available. Their job is to contribute with social intervention. To assess, support and collaborate with the faculty to improve the quality of education.

The International Federation of Social Workers believes that the educational arena is the first place where you can discover family and social problems (FITS quoted in Roselló, 1998). Let us not forget that any problem that is detected early can help prevent or diminish their effect.

The goal of social intervention in the educational arena as such, is to collaborate so that every student gets the same opportunities as the others. This should also happen regardless of their origin, family situation or social environment.

This can be achieved by working with the student and the family. Try to ensure that those responsible for the student are also involved. This will enable the student to achieve complete adaptation and success.

You could also say that social interference tends to begin with problem identification. These interventions are often linked to the private sphere. This means that external associations or companies have educational and informative chats.

But what can we do from the field of education ourselves?

Given that professionals are available, we must emphasize the need to direct students towards a healthy lifestyle. When we talk about “healthy”, people generally think that this term refers to the physical side of health. However, you should not forget the importance of mental health. It is important to develop healthy teens and adults who have social skills and healthy recreational options when it comes to life development.

The social worker’s function in an educational context

Social workers can use their skills in different contexts. One of these is the educational one. It is worth noting that there is still much reason to explore in this field. But even now there are many opportunities for people in this profession.

Within social interference in pedagogical contexts, we will highlight some of the different functions (Iglesias and Ortuño, 2017):

• To collaborate on creating projects involving educational centers. This is especially important in relation to socio-cultural environmental conditions as well as the children’s social and family life.
• To inform parents about the scope of their functions and how they can best use the parenting role.
• To take care of and solve individual situations among the student body. Some academic examples of these are frequent absences and poor performance. Socially, some possible problems can be: problems related to others or communication with them. An inability to adapt to changes and problems getting along with others, or aggression.

• To collaborate on the development of training programs for families.
• To create and disseminate material that can be useful to teachers. This includes aids that may be useful to them.
• To provide the education center with the necessary information regarding the resources available in the community.
• Finally, to inform others about social and educational needs that should be considered in order to carry out adequate educational planning.

Social interference: The position of social workers

People should also consider the sociologist’s position in the context of education as more important than they do today. As change agents and changing professionals, they should also play a fundamental role in the educational community. They are also important for improving the well-being of people in local communities and the way they get together.

Do not forget that planting good seeds for the children you are educating today is planting seeds for a better future.