Social Pedagogy: Hope for a sector in crisis

The challenges facing the early years sector are difficult to ignore. Media sources report of parents finding childcare prohibitively expensive, providers struggling to deliver quality provision at the rate paid by the government, and low morale and meagre wage amongst early years practitioners has contributed to a recruitment crisis. It’s a bleak picture.
This research built on work that colleagues at the University of Worcester had undertaken into the well-being of school-based practitioners. Uniquely drawing on a range of early years practitioner voices the aim was to gauge their mental and physical health status as well as their well-being. Adopting an interpretivist approach, our findings corroborate these media reports and suggest that in the aftermath of COVID-19, the intrinsic rewards of working with young children have become increasingly overshadowed by the shared workforce experience of exhaustion and stress.
It also revealed that many practitioners maintain a passion for their work and offers a glimmer of hope that all is not lost. We propose that by activating the positive values and principles of social pedagogy within our professional roles we can push back against the negative threats of marginalisation and unappreciation that loom over the sector. By intentionally cultivating a culture of well-being and empowerment we not only improve our own chances of future success but the life chances of the children in our care.