Maria De Bie

Civic learning, democratic citizenship and the public sphere

Introduction: Civic learning, democratic citizenship and the public sphere Gert Biesta, Maria De Bie and Danny Wildemeersch.- 1. Learning in public places Gert Biesta.- SECTION 1: THEORY.- 2. Displacing concepts of social learning and democratic citizenship Danny Wildemeersch.- 3. Social services and their educational mandate in the modern nation state Walter Lorenz.- 4. Learning Democracy in Social Work Maria Bouverne-De Bie, Rudi Roose, Filip Coussee and Lieve Bradt.- 5. Subjectificating socialization for the common good: The case for a democratic offensive in upbringing and education Micha de Winter.- SECTION 2: METHODOLOGY.- 6. Mapping childrens presence in the neighbourhood Sven De Visscher.- 7. Research as response: Methodological reflections Carmen Mathijssen and Danny Wildemeersch.- 8. Action research and democracy Rudi Roose, Maria Bouverne-De Bie and Griet Roets.- 9. Educational research on community building practices: From evaluation to witnessing Peter Reyskens and Joke Vandenabeele.- SECTION 3: RESEARCH.- 10. When the wrong people speak. On bullying as a political problem for democratisation in schools Carl Anders Safstrom.- 11. Democratic experimentation in early childhood education Michel Vandenbroeck and Jan Peeters.- 12. Disturbing pedagogies in Special Youth Care Karel De Vos.- 13. Theorizing underlying notions of citizenship in the dynamics of learning in public policy units Griet Roets and Rudi Roose.- 14. Education and sustainability issues: an analysis of publics-in-the-making Katrien Van Poeck and Joke Vandenabeele. Index.

An honorary Doctor in Social Work - Professor Walter Lorenz

On the 20 of March 2015, Professor Walter Lorenz received an honorary doctorate at Ghent University. This was the first honorary doctorate for a social work scholar in Belgium. On the eve before the ceremony that was organised to celebrate this honour, Professor Lorenz gave a pertinent public lecture at Ghent University, entitled ‘Rediscovering the social question’, which we believe might inspire a diversity of social work scholars and practitioners. We therefore invited Walter Lorenz to submit an academic paper based on this lecture, which is now published in this issue of the European Journal of Social Work. In his contribution, Walter Lorenz situates the core of social work in its historical connection with the project of modernity. As a consequence of this historical connection, social work cannot be seen as a ‘solution’ to social problems, but must be approached as a negotiated reflection of the way social reality is shaped. This negotiation has to happen on a continuous basis, involving a diversity of people in a diversity of situations. As such, the double mandate of social work – working on the tension between control and emancipation cannot be reduced to a characteristic of social work, yet is an element of modernity itself. Extremely relevant in the contribution of Walter Lorenz is the way he shows how the project of modernity reaches its limits. This challenges social work to critically analyse and reflect on the social question from which it emerged and to reframe this question for its present day relevance. As such, the mission of social work is characterised by a tension between the promise/mission of personal freedom and the inequalities to realise this freedom. This inequality results in growing insecurity, feelings of powerlessness and alienation. The challenge that Walter Lorenz posits is opposed to the idea that There Is No Alternative (TINA), and implies that it is precisely the mandate of social work to address that there are always personal as well as political alternatives. Furthermore, Lorenz emphasises that these alternatives should be created through democratic dialogue between individuals and groups. As social work works with people at the margins of society, it can contribute in vital ways to this democratic dialogue by taking questions and dilemmas encountered in these margins seriously. As such, he argues that social work has to contribute to a reframing of the social question. By awarding Walter Lorenz an honorary doctorate, Ghent University wanted to honour this quest for democracy and the emphasis on the vital role that social work can play in this quest (see also Lorenz, 2014). Also, the honorary doctorate has a symbolic value in embracing the merits of Walter Lorenz in his contribution to the debate on social work, the study of social work in Europe and his role in linking different social work approaches and educational programs in European Social Work. As such, Walter Lorenz is an inspiring mentor, not in the least for the social work

The Political Role of Social Work: Grasping the Momentum of Working Through Interorganizational Networks in Belgium

ABSTRACT This article explores how social workers deal with the ambiguity that arises from their ability to transform the private needs of individuals into issues of public concern. It is argued that the current shift towards joined-up working, which is epitomized by the creation of interorganizational networks, could encourage new opportunities for social work. These horizontal and nonhierarchical forms of cooperation serve as platforms for debate to ensure regular discussions about the causes of and potential solutions to complex societal problems. This article relies on a case-study of bottom-up networks in two Belgian cities where social workers from various policy fields voluntarily joined forces to look after hard-to-reach groups of homeless people. The primary data were obtained from document analysis, semi-structured interviews with network participants, and direct observations of network meetings. These data were analyzed by conducting a directed content analysis. The examination shows that the joint creation of welfare services leads to substantial debates among social workers about the criteria which homeless people must meet in order to be provided with welfare services and primary care. The paper shows that despite being aware of differing viewpoints by their engagement in such debates, social workers are reluctant to challenge the dominant conceptualizations underlying their own day-to-day practices, and that this impacts on the potential to induce local policymakers to take further action with regard to reducing homelessness.

Shaping a ‘pedagogy of interruption’: Theorizing the role of educational agents in democratic education in urban contexts:

This article theorises the role of educational agents in democratic education in urban contexts by engaging in the discussion about the relationship between citizenship, democracy and education. Therefore, we confront Gert Biesta’s conceptualisation of a ‘pedagogy of interruption’ with the empirical insights that emerge from a qualitative research project on democratic education in a particular urban context in Ghent (Belgium). We elaborate on the historical developments and origins of the educational practices and interventions in this urban context and reveal three contemporary educational strategies that coincide and complement each other while implementing the democratic ideal of equality in differentiated ways: integration, activation and instigation. Our analysis enables us to reflect on the complexities, ambiguities and dilemmas at stake when educational agents shape a ‘pedagogy of interruption’. This pedagogy entails the constant search to balance the multidimensional purposes of democratic education, that is, between socialisation and subjectification.

Du choc des idées jaillit la lumière: thinking with Eric Broekaert’s integrated and holistic paradigm of education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect on how Eric Broekaert perceived “Ortho-pedagogy” as an academic discipline. Design/methodology/approach The authors try to get a grasp on Broekaert’s point of view while cross-reading three central articles in which he explains his integrated and holistic paradigm of education. Findings One could argue that, while claiming that the different epistemological, ontological and methodological approaches underlying Eric Broekaert’s paradigm of holistic education are not easily integrated, the potential paradoxes he produced in this claim also enabled a “choc des idees” and challenged and enlightened a wide diversity of researchers and practitioners in taking a partial, locatable, critical, reflexive and temporary stance in educational praxis (Lather, 1991). Originality/value The authors discuss how Broekaert, as a companion in life, enabled them to cautiously embrace tensions, paradoxes and complexities in the development of an educational praxis.